For All That Must Be
by cruelfeline
Summary: The balance was lost eons ago when fear and anger drove two friends apart.  Now Twilight Sparkle must recover what has been lost by rejoining two halves of an eternal whole, changing Equestria forever. Dislestia; Discolight friendship
1. Prologue: In Which the Sun Laments

A/N: I don't normally do this writing thing with any sort of regularity, but I could not let this go. So here we are. Ahead lies a fic that is shameless Dislestia romance and Discolight friendship. With any luck, it will be fairly long, fairly detailed, somewhat deep, and scratch the itch I've had since RoH P2 ended.

Not your thing, turn back now. For everyone else: enjoy.

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><p>Prologue<p>

In Which the Sun Laments

The festivities began the moment his petrified form hit the ground. First, Ponyville erupted into celebration, courtesy of a triumphant Pinkie Pie. Cloudsdale followed, and Fillydelphia's parties soon added their energy to the spirit of victorious good will spreading across Equestria. Trottingham, Manehattan, and even frontier town Appleloosa threw all their energy into a festival of merriment that finally culminated in a grand affair in Canterlot itself. The capitol celebrated for almost a week, ponies from all corners of Equestria congregating to dance, sing, and revel in the continued safety of their country.

She did, too, of course. The moment she felt the fiery energy of the sun shift away from him and settle back into its normal patterns a profound, almost numbing relief flooded her. Jubilation swiftly followed, and she participated in the festivities as much as her royal status would allow. For days she surrendered to this joy, and for days, nothing struck her as amiss. It was not until the final ceremony that she felt that first uncomfortable twinge.

She faltered when giving the six saviors their accolades, her voice catching on her congratulations. It was slight, almost unnoticeable, and indeed it seemed that no one caught it. Even when she misspoke a second time, only one filly, her ever-observant faithful student, looked up with mild puzzlement marring the humble triumph on her face. A bright smile reassured both teacher and student, and the rest of the ceremony passed without incident. Only later, when her subjects were totally occupied by a city-wide party, did the twinge return as a pang.

For the better part of an hour Celestia stood on her private balcony, gazing out at her perfect city gleaming under her perfect sun. All that time, the pang would not cease. It grew ever stronger in some deep part of her that she could barely remember, until she had to turn her gaze away from all that had been restored. She could still feel it when she decided to finally return the Elements of Harmony to their vault. Climbing Canterlot Tower's staircase, she tried to ignore it. A part of her was _desperate_ to ignore it, and so it was that only when she reached the top of the stairs, when it became too much to ignore, did she truly pause to examine it.

What was it? What was this twisting, coiling near-pain deep within, settled in a part of her that she'd kept resolutely quiet for so long? Why was it waking? Why was it prickling and pulling at her being with a fervor that only rose each time she tried to quell it? Why?

Celestia frowned, a rare expression on a normally serene face. She shook her head, trying to dislodge the train of thought that was steadily forming there and made her way to the vault. Everything in the hall was as it had always been: stained glass windows depicting a good portion of Equestrian history as she passed them. Why then was a cold nausea steadily rising within her as she carried the Elements towards their resting place? Why could she only barely glance at the colorful windows surrounding her before feeling light-headed? _Why_?

Her breathing quickened; her heartbeat followed suit. Widening eyes glanced furtively at the stained glass images around her. She _knew _why. Celestia could not yet say how, but she knew. Even as she puzzled over her discomfort, her ambiguous pain, Celestia knew precisely what she was feeling. She knew it in a part of her that she'd staunchly ignored for eons, in a part that went back to _before._ She knew it well, but only when she reached out to lock the Elements back in again, feeling for the magical residues from her old spell, could she no longer keep her walls up. The story told by the old energies would not let her, and she gasped with what was almost physical pain as realization that had truly always been hers finally revealed itself. Tears, unbidden and unwanted, clouded her vision as she fought to forget again, to reassert the control she'd held over those old memories, but in the end, she could not. In the end, Celestia succumbed to what had always been, what always would be, and as her gaze fell upon the final window, the newest, the pang blossomed into a fierce hurt.

High up in Canterlot tower, unheard by her merry subjects in the city below, Celestia began to weep.

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><p>AN: First chapter is already in the works. Thanks for reading.


	2. 1: In Which Twilight Worries

A/N: And so truly begins our narrative.

Disclaimer: I own nothing pony.

Chapter One: In Which Twilight Worries

Her problems did not begin with the dreams. It might have been simpler if they had, but that was frankly just not the case. The dreams would come after the first real signs of impending conflict, arriving without any sort of warning or fanfare. The first hints, conversely, came loudly announced by dragon's breath and belch. Indeed, Twilight Sparkle's problems began with letters.

She frowned as she scanned the latest arrival from Princess Celestia. The note was in response to her latest friendship lesson, one she felt had been quite insightful: a musing on white lies and guarding feelings courtesy of yet another resolved spat between Rarity and Applejack. She'd pondered over said lesson for hours before finally having Spike put quill to parchment and dictating a good scroll's worth of learned points and principles. Certainly her work deserved more than... _this_? Twilight read over the abysmally short, generic response her teacher had sent. She levitated the parchment to look at the back, hoping that she might have missed some hidden scribblings, only to be disappointed. Again. Again, because to her left, piled neatly on her writing desk, lay at least ten similarly short, uninspired responses from her mentor.

"Am I doing something wrong, Spike?" she finally sighed, startling said dragon from dusting the shelves.

"Huh? Wrong what?" He glanced back at her before resuming his work. "Oh... is the letter short again?"

"Yes!" she exclaimed, shoving the parchment into his face and earning an indignant squawk from the little dragon, "it's _short_. Look at it!"

"All right, all right... jeez. Let's see." Spike abandoned the feather duster for the moment, snatching the note from midair and squinting at Celestia's neat penmanship. "Hmm... 'faithful student... good progress... pleased with your continued efforts...'" He gave a snort and rolled his eyes.

"It looks pretty normal to me. I think you're-"

"I am NOT overreacting!" The force of her response knocked her assistant back onto his rump, but Twilight was too wrapped up in her distress to notice. "Princess Celestia has _always_ written long responses to my letters. _Always!_ Why would she stop now?"

"Oh, I don't know," Spike grumbled while dusting himself off, "maybe she's just bu-"

"What if my friendship reports aren't good enough? What if she thinks I'm not putting enough effort in? What if-"

"Twilight!"

Spike's voice interrupted her growing hysteria, and Twilight swallowed down her remaining anxiety as the dragon patted her on the shoulder.

"Twi, have you changed your reports at all?"

She had to think for a moment, only to shake her head. "No. No, they're the same as ever. Same class of topics, same length, same analytic depth..."

"Then why would the princess suddenly think they're not good enough? That makes no sense!"

Twilight blinked. Her mental gears turned for a few more seconds before logic won out over growing panic, and she let out a breath.

"You're... you're right, Spike. That doesn't make any sense."

Spike puffed up importantly. "Of course I'm right. I'm _always_ right when you start going off the deep end! You know, you should really..." Twilight fixed him with a reproachful glare, and he swiftly deflated, expression switching to submissive humility. "...ah... you know, I think I'm going to get back to my chores." With that, he scurried off. She waited until he was out of sight before allowing her stern expression to melt into a small smile. Spike may have been prone to occasional moments of ego, but he was indispensable when it came to saving her from her forays into academic panic. Twilight made a mental note to surprise him with a choice gem at dinner later that evening.

Presently, however, she had to reach some sort of conclusion regarding the princess' uncharacteristically brief replies. She turned her full attention back to the latest response and read it a third time.

_Dearest Twilight Sparkle,_

_ As always, my faithful student, you are making very good progress in your advanced friendship studies. This last report showcased excellent personal growth and understanding of the principles of honesty and integrity. I am highly pleased with your continued efforts in expanding your knowledge of the various aspects of friendship and look forward to your next report._

_ Yours,_

_ Princess Celestia_

She pouted. Just a few weeks ago, her mentor's responses were a few pages long at least. Some, likely those involving lessons that affected the princess in some personal way, elicited pages of anecdotes and wisdom that Twilight would read late into the night. These recent replies were very obviously uncharacteristic of Celestia, that Twilight was sure of. Spike was quite wrong in dismissing their length, but Twilight was able to see his point in rejecting her previous paranoid reasoning. Her letters had not changed at all; if anything, she was more familiar with the sort of analysis and insight Celestia liked to see, resulting in letters improving with time. Looking over copies of her last few assignments, she nodded to herself: definitely no loss in quality or anything of that sort. Her organization and grammar were impeccable, her discussion properly insightful and pleasantly lengthy. Nothing had changed on her end, so what was going on?

Logic dictated that the problem had to do with the princess. Twilight bit her lip nervously: the idea that something could be wrong with Celestia, even regarding matters as seemingly small as friendship reports, was not a comforting one. She reexamined her thought process again, looking over all of the parchment spread over her desk, before granting attention to such an unsavory possibility. In the end, however, she had to consider it, so she pulled out her daily planner and studied all of her records from the past weeks.

Twilight knew that her planner would not include events and tasks that Celestia would need to perform on a daily or weekly basis, but that issue seemed unimportant: she doubted that anything ordinary would cause such a shift in the princess' manner. It would have to be something big, something important, to affect someone as old and powerful as she. Twilight's planner did include mention of various political events of some significance; it was a habit left over from living in Canterlot, reinforced by her desire to stay familiar with current events. These were the events she studied, looking over the past weeks and trying to find some sort of catalyst for Celestia's sudden aloofness.

There had been a meeting with a delegate from the Griffon kingdom a week and a half ago, but that had resulted in favorable changes to a recent treaty: not negative. Twilight crossed it off of her mental list of possibilities. Two formal parties... a public appearance at the Great Canterlot Library...a couple of concerts... multiple open court sessions... nothing unusual. The royal itinerary was fairly busy, but this was nothing special. Twilight had seen much worse during her time at the castle as Celestia's apprentice: some weeks had been almost cruelly hectic, but the princess was very accustomed to such activity. She'd get tired, sure, but none of her duties had ever suffered, particularly those that had some significant emotional value. Twilight was not an egotistical pony in any sense, but she would have to have been quite foolish to not identify her relationship with Celestia as emotionally significant to both of them. She loved her mentor, and it was more than plain that Celestia cared deeply for her. There was no way such a comparatively light schedule would affect her report responses so strongly.

"Hmm... let's see..." she muttered to herself, bringing a hoof to her chin, "when was the last normal letter? Maybe something happened right after... ah ha!" She levitated a few pieces of parchment up out of her pile and brought them up to her face. This was the last normal response, and up in the right corner of the first sheet was the date. Twilight quickly turned to that page in her planner and studied what she had written. It only took her a few seconds to read the brief notes, and those notes only contained one thing of any importance. The effect on her was immediate: she dropped the parchment and took a step back from her desk, as if putting distance between herself and the pages would lessen the sudden thudding of her heart.

The last proper letter had been sent a mere three days before they'd faced Discord. Twilight shuddered at the thought of all that had happened when the chaotic spirit had broken free: Ponyville engulfed in chaos, her friends bickering like cranky foals, Equestria on the brink of destruction. The memories were anything but pleasant, and Twilight had to pause a moment before allowing her thoughts to reach their obvious conclusion.

Whatever was wrong with the princess had to involve the recent crisis. It was the only thing Twilight could think of that made any sort of sense, for what else had been dramatic and unsettling enough to have the power to shake someone as stable as Princess Celestia? Confident in this line of reasoning, she immediately began to wrack her brain for supporting evidence. It didn't take long for one particular memory to surface, and Twilight gasped.

"The ceremony! I _wasn't_ imagining things when I thought the princess stuttered! She really did... _wait!_ Twice! She did it _twice_! How could I have missed that? How could I have forgotten?"

Truth be told, it wasn't particularly surprising that she'd missed it. She'd only just noticed it when it had happened, it had been so subtle. Her friends hadn't noticed at all; when she'd mentioned it after the ceremony, they'd responded with looks of utter bafflement. Twilight had dropped the idea almost as quickly as she'd formed it, preferring instead to partake in the wonderful spirit of victory with everyone else. Indeed, she'd had no reason to pursue it: without anything to give her further suspicion, she'd chalked her uncertainty up to leftover stress from the Discord ordeal. No more, and no less.

_Now, _however, she had plenty to make her suspicious: numerous letters that bore Celestia's signature but lacked her true voice. The problem now was figuring out what to do about it, and quickly. If she was right about this mess, then something had been wrong for... over a month. A month! Twilight squirmed.

"Oh... how could I have let this sit for a whole month? I should have noticed it sooner... I should have been more proactive! I shouldn't have ignored my intuition _at the ceremony_! Now who _knows_ what's happened! I've been a terrible student, and now-"

"Twilight!" Spike's voice floated in from the other room, "deep end!"

"...ah. Right. Thanks, Spike!"

"No problem!"

She didn't have _time_ to lose it: Celestia needed her! She needed to... to... to what, exactly? Now that Twilight saw where the problem could be, what could she do? Perhaps... could she write to Celestia? Offer her comfort, advice, counsel?

For a moment, she considered it, only to reject the idea with a vehement shake of her head. "If I write to her about this, she'll know that I've been disappointed with her letters. She'll know I know something's wrong, and if she knew that..." Twilight shifted uncomfortably. Letting the princess know might put the monarch in an awkward position. After all, who liked to have a rare moment of shortcoming focused upon, particularly when still suffering? No, that would not do, not at all. Twilight didn't even truly know _what_ was wrong, only that it seemed to stem from the events surrounding Discord. How could she possibly bring up something that unsettled the princess so much without really even knowing anything about it? How could she-

"Oh! Yes, of course! It's _obvious_!" She visibly brightened, clapping her front hooves together in sudden excitement. "In order to solve a problem, one must first know how to approach it, and that means knowing all there is to know about said problem! So all I've got to do now is-"

"Research?" Spike sauntered back in, eying her warily.

"Exactly!"

Spike gave a long-suffering sigh. "I'll start getting the books."

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><p>"No, no, no, <em>no<em>! This is the _same; _it's _all_ the same! Ugh!" Twilight tossed yet another book aside, earning an indignant yelp from her scaled assistant as he rushed to catch it.

"Will you relax? And stop throwing things? It's bad enough that you had me get _every_ book on Equestrian history _ever,_" Spike grumbled, taking her latest projectile and returning it to its place on the shelf.

Twilight sighed in a mixture of frustration and genuine apology. "I'm sorry, Spike. It's just that none of these books have what I'm looking for! _None!_ How is that even possible?"

"...what _are_ you looking for?"

"Discordian history." She opened up another massive tome and began flipping through its pages.

"Disco-what now?" Spike paused in his clean up to fix Twilight with a look of utter confusion. She sighed again.

"_Discordian_. You know, pertaining to Discord? I'm looking for information about the time Discord ruled Equestria."

"Discord... you mean that weird goat-looking guy? The one who turned everyone gray? Who made Fluttershy..." Spike shuddered suddenly, remembering the state his friends had been in just a few weeks ago.

"Yes, him. I'm trying to find out more about him, and these books are way too general! They're telling me things I already know. Look," she pointed out a passage, "see? Right here."

Spike climbed up onto the desk to get a better look, reading aloud as was his habit.

"'Discord: Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. A draconequus, he is best known for the use of very advanced chaotic magic. His rule over Equestria preceded that of the princesses Celestia and Luna, who ended his reign of disharmony by using the Elements of Harmony against him. The result was-'"

Twilight cut him off abruptly with a frustrated huff. "See? It's all stuff I already know. No details about his rule. No details about his origins. Nothing about how the princesses fought him, other than the use of the Elements. Nothing that I don't already _know_!"

Spike winced as Twilight's voice rose in her agitation. "Well... maybe there isn't anything else to know."

"There _has_ to be more! The princess has not been herself, and I know it started when we defeated Discord again! There has to be more to all of this, a reason she's acting this way. And I'm going to find it!"

"But Twi," he tried again, "why don't you just ask the princess? Write her a letter? You know: communicate? Didn't you learn that in one of your friendship lessons?" He reached out, intending to shuffle through her notes for some advice on openness, only to stop when she gave him an almost pained look.

"That's just it, Spike. The princess is the one who's changed and hasn't said anything. I'm afraid that whatever is bothering her might be too difficult for her to talk about, and if I were to bring it up..." she shuddered as various consequences came to mind. "No, I refuse to do anything before I have more information! I just don't understand why I can't find any details about such a huge part of Equestrian history. It's ridiculous!"

She left her desk to browse the library shelves for the umpteenth time, hoping to find some encyclopedia or royal biography that they had missed. Her search was unsuccessful, and she hung her head in defeat.

"Oh, nevermind. It's just not in any of these books." Twilight gave one last glance around the room before growling. "Ugh! I cannot believe this. We defeated that jerk weeks ago and he's _still_ making my life miserable! I bet he'd be _thrilled_!" She sat down heavily, pouting down at the texts spread out across her desk.

She was completely and utterly out of ideas. Every book in the library with even a slight reference to Discord and his time as ruler was either on her desk or stacked next to it. She'd gone through each one at least twice, some of the wordier ones three times in case she'd missed something, and she was no closer to understanding the situation than when she'd started. Heck, she wasn't even sure she was working in the right direction! How could she be sure that the princess' distance had to do with Discord? Twilight bit her lip as she reexamined her logic. Was it possible that she had erred, that this was all a waste of time and pointless frustration?

No... no, she _knew_ she hadn't. The more she thought about it, the more obvious it became that Celestia had not been right even before the letters. She'd been very brief about Discord. She'd never discussed their final confrontation with him. She'd barely spoken of the whole ordeal beyond the formal congratulations. Heck, she'd never even explained how the Elements had been stolen, or why she'd allowed them to flounder about in a maze designed only to cripple them. All of these things, and so many more, made less and less sense as Twilight tried to understand them. The only conclusion she could reach was that something about the whole Discord situation was affecting the princess in an abnormally strong way. Something... but what? _What_? She couldn't come up with anything, and her books had failed her. What did she have besides her books?

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I think I'm done researching for the day." Ignoring Spike's shocked gasp, she made her way around piles of books to the door. "I'm going for a walk, try to clear my head. I'll be back before dinner."

She did not wait for his response and stepped out into the sunshine for the first time in days, shutting the door behind her.

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><p>Twilight managed to walk through most of Ponyville in something of a half-conscious daze. Her mind, try as she might, would not leave the current predicament alone. She had intended to calm herself and perhaps grant a new perspective on the situation, but all she managed to accomplish was... well, a whole lot of nothing. Celestia's short letters, her distance, the strange lack of information about Discord... all these things would not leave her be. She was so distracted that she didn't acknowledge anyone on her walk, even failing to wave back at the local mailmare when she called out in greeting. In fact, by the time she actually shook herself out of her thoughts, she realized that she'd left Ponyville altogether.<p>

Withers-high grass rustled softly as a light breeze blew across the meadow she'd come to. At the other edge, the sun was already dipping behind the trees of the Everfree forest. The sky overhead was a dusky blue bleeding into mauve and magenta, the faintest hints of stars beginning to stand out amongst the clouds. The lovely sunset, utterly picturesque above the expanse of the meadow, went entirely unnoticed when Twilight realized precisely _which_ meadow her hooves had brought her to. In the very center, stony surface painted a myriad of colors in sunset's light, stood the great frozen form of Discord.

There had been more than a little controversy regarding his placement just outside of Ponyville: no inhabitant of the small village wanted the petrified form of a dangerous enemy permanently stationed right near home. Indeed, Twilight and her friends were among the most confused and unnerved when Celestia announced the statue's new resting place. Her reasons, however, did make some sense once they'd had a chance to mull them over. Celestia had explained, in the same gentle tone she used whenever trying to convey unpleasant realities, that the fields outside Ponyville would be a safer area for the statue. They saw far fewer visitors than the Canterlot Gardens, so chances of another escape aided by arguing fillies were much lower. More importantly, however, was the fact that placing the statue near the current bearers of the Elements would keep the seal stronger. Before, Celestia and Luna had been the ones to work the spell, so the statue stood in the gardens, its seal kept strong by the nearby presence of the princesses. Now with a new seal in place, established by new bearers, it was only logical to give the statue a new place of residence to ensure the seal's permanence. Thus, Discord's petrified form found its new home in a particularly large meadow right outside of Ponyville's borders.

Twilight walked up to the statue now, lip curling in a look of disgust as she glared up at the twisted stone face, forever frozen in wide-eyed shock. It was no real surprise that her unconscious mind had led her here; she'd read about that sort of thing in enough psychology books to expect it. That didn't make the sight any more welcome, and she sat down with an angry snort.

"Of course I'd end up here. Stupid statue. Stupid Discord. Do you have any idea how much trouble you've caused, you dumb draconequus! First you plunge Equestria into chaos, then you nearly destroy our friendship, and now, even when you're _rock_, you manage to hurt the princess! You stupid... ow!" A well-aimed kick at the statue's reptilian leg had only resulted in a throbbing hoof, while her anger remained fresh and fiery as ever. Oh, why did her inner turmoil have to lead her _here_, of all places? The last thing she wanted to see was the ugly brute's face.

Twilight sighed, the pain in her hoof finally subsiding enough to allow her to seek something useful in her current position. Maybe... maybe she'd led herself here because something about the statue would inspire her. She studied it with a critical eye, trying to find some sort of meaning in the mishmash of parts making up the imprisoned creature. Pony, eagle, lion, goat, lizard, snake, deer... all unfortunately familiar and still eerily creepy, but nothing jogging any sort of useful memories or new insight. Twilight looked up into his face again. Nothing. Still the same expression: the same wide eyes and open muzzle, the same naked surprise and...

A sudden chill danced down her spine, and Twilight shuddered before finally looking away.

"Oh, forget it. Whatever you did to the princess, you're just a hunk of rock now, and staring at you isn't going to help me." She sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day. "I guess I should head back."

"Head back where?"

"Ah!" Twilight yelped, whirling around in surprise only to find herself nose to nose with Pinkie Pie. She let out a relieved breath.

"Pinkie Pie, you startled me! Don't you know not to sneak up on ponies?"

Pinkie Pie blinked.

Twilight gave her deadpan look. "Of course you don't." She made to scold her more, but Pinkie Pie interrupted in her trademark overly energetic fashion.

"I haven't seen you in _ages_! None of us have! We've all been all 'where's Twilight, have you seen her? I haven't, have you?' But here you are, right in the meadow! Have you..." she brought her face uncomfortably close to Twilight's, "have you been _hiding_?"

"Um... no? I've been in the library. Resea- ah... studying. I've been studying. You know, books and stuff? And I decided to take a break and go for a walk."

A part of her cringed the moment the lie, however small, passed her lips, but she couldn't bring herself to tell Pinkie Pie the truth. She didn't know precisely why: was it because she was embarrassed over a possible overreaction? Maybe. Or perhaps she did not want to worry her friends with her concerns about the princess. Was it a mixture of the two? Twilight wasn't sure; all she knew was that she suddenly felt very peculiar, almost twitchy, and the idea of explaining her recent activities to her friends made it worse. She was not normally one to follow blind intuition, but something deep within nudged her away from exposition, and so she stood by her story. Pinkie, being Pinkie, did not notice.

"Well, how about you come over to Sugarcube Corner for a while and hang out? Everyone's coming; Mr. And Mrs. Cake let us hold a tea party, and they just got in all these new kinds of tea to try! We can... um... Twilight? Twi? Hellooooo?" Twilight shook herself out of what had apparently become a private revery to see Pinkie's wide eyes boring hopefully into her own.

A part of her definitely wanted nothing more than to take a break from her disconcerting thoughts and join her friends for an afternoon of pleasant company, but... it was no use. She was too... too _bothered_ to properly socialize. After all, with her all broody, they might notice something amiss, and that could prove disastrous. No... no, she wouldn't go. She was tired anyway, drained from her attempted research and the unsettling feelings milling about her mind. With a sigh, she pushed past Pinkie.

"Sorry, Pinkie Pie," she gave an apologetic smile, "I'm really, _really_ tired from all that studying. I think I'm just going to go home and...uh, hit the hay."

"Oh." Pinkie frowned for a moment, but it was short-lived. A second later she beamed back at Twilight with another genuine grin. "That's okay! Your studies come first, after all. We understand! Just don't overdo it!"

She felt guilty now, faced with such earnest goodwill, but her resolve did not falter. "Thanks Pinkie. I'll see you later; say hi to the others for me. And tell them I'm sorry I couldn't see them."

"Okie dokie loki!"

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><p>Twilight reached the library just as the last rays of sunlight left to darkened sky. She had dinner with her assistant, Spike too engrossed in enjoying his gem treats to notice her subdued air, and washed up before finally retiring to bed. Curled up between the plush sheets, Twilight closed her eyes, hoping that a long, restful sleep would rejuvenate her. Surely she would be in better spirits tomorrow, ready to find the elusive solution to the princess' strangeness. A good night's rest would put her in top form, and everything would look better in the morning.<p>

What she did not know was that the moment she thought these comforting thoughts, allowing herself a reassuring smile as she drifted off to sleep, was quite a rare moment indeed: it was a moment in which she was completely and utterly wrong. Her sleep would not be peaceful. Her sleep would be anything but, and as she fully succumbed to slumber, her real problems began.

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><p>AN: Thanks for reading.


	3. 2: In Which Memories and Dreams Pester

A/N: The plot thickens.

Disclaimer: I own nothing pony.

Chapter Two: In Which Memories and Dreams Pester

The sun was at its zenith, golden rays filtering through the clouds to warm the bustling city of Canterlot as its inhabitants went about their daily lives. The ponies below paid little notice to it, so accustomed were they to its presence, but Celestia's attention had been fixed on it for over an hour. She stood unmoving on her balcony, elegant head upturned towards the great orb in the sky. Its energy radiated down to her, warming not only her fur and skin but reaching down deeper, touching her very core. It was this contact she focused on, focused as completely as she could. She had to. It was one of the few things that helped now, this strict focus. Otherwise, the pain would resurface with such intensity that her breath would cease.

It had gotten worse over the past week, though... had it been a week? Had it been a week, or just a few days? Perhaps... perhaps it had been months, and she had been so entrenched in keeping it all buried that she had neglected to notice the passage of time? Or maybe it had only been a few hours since the memories clawed their way up out of her mind's depths, and her despair had lengthened her suffering. Celestia did not know. All she knew was that underneath the veneer of her tenuous attention waited something akin to agony, and she could not bear to face it.

The sun moved as it always did, keeping to the perfect order of the path she dictated. Her mind followed it, tracing the precise track from which it never strayed, ensuring that its rays fell equally upon all they touched. The sameness of it soothed her. She recognized the total predictability that she'd instilled in the system long ago, and watching its workings laid a thicker veil over the unspeakable thoughts threatening her was all she needed to do now: ensure its sameness, revel in its order. That had helped before. Yes, this time was worse, worse than any time she could remember, but she could not let that matter. Celestia had to trust that her old methods would work, and so she reached out to the sun again. She straightened its rays, refined its impeccable path. The pain receded slightly, its raw voice fading. Yes, it would be just like before. She could fix this, she knew she could. She just had to keep trying, keep consistent. It had worked before; it would work again.

Celestia reached out and straightened the rays again. Every photon of light, straight. So beautifully, wonderfully, peacefully straight. Now, again. Straight again. And again. Again, until her breathing slowed and her heart ceased thudding. Again, until the pain quieted down to a whisper. Yes, she could do this. Just like before, she could control it all and banish it to where she could not see it. She just had to-

"...sister? Celestia!"

The pain flared, burning tendrils reaching out to bestow agony upon every corner of her mind. For a moment, Celestia could not find the sun, and for that moment, she floundered in an endless ocean of twisted emotion. She turned away from the balcony.

"I'm sorry, Luna." A smile. A gentle expression in her eyes. Beneath them, Celestia grasped blindly. "The city is so vibrant today, I could not help watching. Did you need something?"

"Yes. We... ah, that is, _I _wish to remind thee that thy presence is expected in court in a few minutes."

Where was the sun? _Where was it_? If only she could find it again, then this would all _stop_. She could focus on its perfection and all of the power that radiated from it, and the world would settle again, and this would stop just like before.

"Is it now? Goodness, where has the time gone!" She vaguely wondered what her expression was now; it must have been something appropriate, for Luna simply smiled back at her. "I will be right down." Back to the sky. She needed to reach back out to the sky and find what could save her. Was Luna still there? Yes... yes, she was. Why was she not leaving? Celestia needed the sun... the sun, the sun, the-

"Actually... if it would not be too much trouble, we... I... would like to attempt court myself today. I believe I have prepared myself adequately, and taking this step could serve to further build on a positive public image. If, of course, you agree..."

"Luna... if you feel ready, then of course you can; I think it's a wonderful idea! You go down and begin. If you should need me..."

She was smiling again, wasn't she? Yes... yes, she thought she was. Good. She was smiling, and Luna was smiling, and that was fine and great and now Luna would go away and then it would be just her and her blessed sun and everything would crawl back to the blackness from whence it came and it would be fine, fine, perfectly fine...

"I will call you. I... Celly..."

There was something she was supposed to say to that... what was it, what was it, what...ah!

"Yes, little Lulu?" There. Perfect. Now leave. _Leave._

"I... thank you."

"Of course, little sister." There was a nuzzle, and an embrace, and a look that spoke of gentle pride, and then her sister was gone. Immediately, Celestia reached for the sun, and oh glorious, _wondrous_ day, there it was as it had always been.

She straightened its rays again, and the pain dulled. She nudged it along its track, and the agonizing memories receded. Again. And again. Soon she forgot Luna had been there at all. Certainly, she did not watch her younger sister walk past an utterly vacant court and turn down a little-used hallway that led to the Equestrian archives. No, Celestia remained in her room, rigidly still on her balcony, pleading with the sun to make the pain stop.

As the memories churned and roiled in their fragile prison, she straightened those golden rays again.

* * *

><p><em>Laughter... the laughter of young fillies prancing in the sunshine... a flash of pink and white... another of deepest blue... a feeling of the purest, most innocent joy as they turned around, eyes wide with happy recognition...<em>

_ Bored... so bored... bored bored bored bored... how could anyone be this bored? How could this boredom even exist? How was such intense, boredom even possi-_

_ More pink, more blue... a checkerboard? What was a checkerboard- ah, to play on, of course! Leaping, bounding... somehow it was so much more fun because the ground was pretty colors. Bizarre, strange, but oh, how they laughed.. How wonderful it all was..._

_ She was wrong somehow, shaking and sick in her head for days on end. There was a fix, though, and oh, what an incredibly easy fix it was! It only took a few seconds to soften her thoughts, and then she was the giggling, playful child of their first meeting..._

_ Screaming... screaming, and crying, and yelling while the frigid numbness climbed. The last was a shriek, a piercing wail of the wildest laughter, crazed and desperate and only falling silent when-_

Twilight awoke tangled tightly in sweat-soaked bed sheets. For a few minutes she lay still, not really because she wanted to, but because the residual emotions left from her troubled sleep were paralyzing in their intensity. Only when her mind relaxed, all of those feelings fading into the vaguest memory, did Twilight let out a shuddering breath. Without a doubt, this had been the worst night yet.

She rolled over, landing shakily on weak hooves and making her way to her dresser. The face that met her eyes in the mirror was a shock: pale, drawn and exhausted. She looked as if she hadn't slept in weeks, but it had only been a few days since the disturbances had started. Twilight wrinkled her muzzle at her reflection as she began to brush out her mane.

"Disturbances" was really the best word, she'd decided. Some might have called them dreams, but the episodes weren't really like any sort of dreams she'd ever had. They'd come as mere emotions at first... no, not even that. They'd come as _shadows _of emotions, just barely hinting at some sort of feeling. The first morning, Twilight had awoken strangely drained, still tired despite a full night's sleep. She'd blamed it on the stress of the day before; after all, worrying about the princess and performing fruitless research were both undeniably taxing. She hadn't even remembered anything concrete: no images, no sounds, just the faintest traces of unnamed feelings that dissipated the moment the sun's rays touched her eyelids. No, Twilight had been drained, but she hadn't been worried. The worry set in the next night, when she'd awoken panting and terrified for no reason she could name. It had taken her an hour to fall asleep again, only to greet the morning in complete exhaustion once more. The next few nights saw the initial wisps of swiftly forgotten emotion slowly evolve into flashes of vision and sound that, while incomprehensible upon waking, made her sleep that much more restless. Each morning, she would rise as tired as if she had never slept, and each morning she would tell herself the same thing: it was stress. It must have been stress. What else could it have possibly been?

Twilight gave her reflection a stern look; it was stress, absolutely no more. She nodded resolutely... and dropped the brush. It landed with a soft clatter, but the noise might have been a harsh clang for how it startled Twilight. She stared at the brush as if she had never seen it before. How was that possible? She... she hadn't _meant_ to drop it. She hadn't. Half of her mane was still unbrushed; she hadn't even thought of putting the brush down, yet there it was, laying innocently on the dresser. Trembling, she focused on levitating it... and succeeded. Weakly. Though the brush floated in the air before her, she could feel how weak her hold on it was, how frail, and knew that if she let her concentration wander the slightest bit... Swallowing mutely, she put the brush down and looked back into the mirror.

It wasn't just stress. It couldn't have been. The pony looking back at her didn't just look tired; she looked legitimately ill, a wan version of Twilight Sparkle that barely had the strength to levitate a mane brush. Twilight watched her reflection's bloodshot eyes fill with tears. For a moment, it seemed that she really would cry, so deep was this sudden fear, but she ended up shaking her head and blinking the tears away. No. No, no, _no!_ She could not allow some stupid _dreams_ to ruin her attempts to help the princess! The last few days had seen absolutely zero improvement on Celestia's behavior, another letter coming as short as the others just yesterday afternoon. She could not give up now, no matter how awful she felt. Twilight looked herself over again, stamping a hoof in renewed determination. Really, she did not feel _that _poorly. So her magic was a little weak; stress could certainly do that. Yes, it definitely could. Who could say, really and truly, that this was not just an overblown stress reaction? It was not as if she had never had some form of breakdown before; Spike could attest to that.

Re-energized by sheer force of will, Twilight drew herself up, puffed out her chest, took a step towards the door... and stumbled badly enough to fall against the wall. She shook herself and sighed. All right, perhaps rushing was a bad idea at this point. Perhaps a rest, but just a little one, would be the intelligent, logical thing to do. Twilight nodded to herself. She was, after all, no use to the princess if she could barely function. This called for a break, just for the day. As she steadied herself, Twilight resolved to take the day off from her admittedly fruitless research. She'd resume later that night, once she'd had some time to focus on other things. The plan pleased her, and she managed a small smile just as Spike knocked on her door, declaring breakfast ready.

* * *

><p>It seemed like <em>years<em> since she'd seen the sun. Twilight closed her eyes and tilted her face up to the sky, basking in the warm glow that kissed her skin. It really had been a fantastic idea, leaving the library for a nice, long stroll. The moment she'd closed the door on the piles of historical texts littering the floor, it felt as if a weight had lifted from her. Even her lingering exhaustion did not dampen her enjoyment of another beautiful early spring day. Winter Wrap Up had happened, on time, just last week, and all around her the ponies of Ponyville were making the most of one of their favorite seasons. So far, the walk had been just what she needed. She'd only met one slight snag: there had been a moment when she'd found herself heading, as had become something of an odd habit, towards the meadow housing Discord's statue. Once she'd made a conscious effort to pass on examining his stone form, however, she managed some real enjoyment. Twilight turned a corner, intending to make her way up the street to one of her favorite restaurants, only to stop at the sound of her name.

"Twilight! Is that you, dear?" The voice was elegant and refined, unmistakeably Rarity's. Rarity's voice, the east side of town... what was today? Tuesday? Yes, it was. That meant... Twilight searched the crowd for her fellow unicorn, sighted her, and smiled at the sight of their pegasus friend following close behind. Every Tuesday was, without fail, the day Rarity and Fluttershy took their trip to the spa together. Had Twilight been in a healthier mindset the last few days she might have remembered, but her preoccupation with princess Celestia had resulted in a happily coincidental meeting.

"Twilight! Oh, darling, we haven't seen you in _ages_. Where have you- oh _my!_" Instead of meeting Twilight's greeting smile with one of her own, Rarity stared at her with a look of utter horror. Fluttershy, once she'd caught up, echoed Rarity's exclamation with a gasp. Both ponies stared incredulously at Twilight, who knew precisely what the problem was and shifted uncomfortably because of it.

"Um... hi guys. How have you been?" she ventured tentatively, a hoof scuffing the ground in her discomfort. She hadn't been planning on any socialization because of just this reaction: of course they would be shocked at her appearance.

"How have _we_ been? Twilight, never mind us! What's happened to you?" Rarity leaned close to peer at her pale friend.

Fluttershy, shyness forgotten in her concern, actually reached out and touched a hoof to Twilight's forehead. "Are you sick? Is that why you've been staying home? Oh, you poor thing!"

Twilight, by now thoroughly embarrassed by their well-intentioned fussing, took a large step back. "Girls, please! I'm fine! I just... I've been studying _a lot_ recently, and it's been cutting into my sleep schedule. That's all!' She smiled reassuringly, only to be met with looks of suspicion. "Really, I swear! I'm studying a very difficult topic right now, and I guess the stress has gotten to me a little. It's really not as bad as it looks, I promise." Again, a placating smile brightened her face as she tried to sell this idea to them, just as she had sold it to herself a few hours ago. Rarity and Fluttershy looked back skeptically.

Twilight began to sweat. What if they didn't believe her? What if they demanded more answers? What if they asked what she was studying, and she ended up blurting out the whole fiasco? Luckily, she was still too exhausted to fall into another one of her downward spirals. All she could do was keep smiling at their disapproving expressions, hoping they would believe her. Or at least pretend to.

Eventually, Rarity broke the tension with a heavy sigh. "I cannot say that I believe _studying_ can do _that_ to your lovely complexion, my dear, but if you insist upon it, then I suppose I shall have to relent. _However_," a nearly mad look entered her lovely blue eyes, "you _will_ be coming to the spa with Fluttershy and myself. On us. Right now. And I will not take no for an answer!"

Twilight's ears fell. She had _not_ been planning on any real socialization on her excursion; she simply did not trust herself in her current tired condition. A protest immediately came to her mouth, but a surprisingly stern look from Fluttershy shut it up quick.

"I'm sorry, but I must agree with Rarity. You really should come with us, Twilight, even if only for a little while." Twilight tried to counter with a look of protest, but Fluttershy, shy as she was, seemed to gain a veritable mountain of assertiveness when an animal, or one of her friends, was not well. "I really must insist, Twilight. For your own good." Now Twilight finally had a moment to regret suggesting Fluttershy be more forceful with her patients during that whole phoenix ordeal. Clearly, the pegasus had taken her words to heart. Faced with two very unyielding ponies, Twilight hung her head in defeat.

"All right. I'll come along."

Immediately, Fluttershy relaxed into a gentle smile, and Rarity's demeanor changed altogether. She wrapped a hoof around Twilight with almost frightening enthusiasm.

"Wonderful! Come along then! You'll be feeling, and looking, scores better in no time at all!"

With that, Twilight found herself bodily dragged to the spa. By the time they'd made it into the foyer, she'd gone from merely bone-tired to disoriented and hopelessly dizzy. Perhaps, she reflected with the sliver of her mind not occupied with trying maintain some balance, this had not been the best idea after all. Getting out of it now, however, was out of the question. Resigned to her fate, Twilight prepared herself for the discomfort of unwanted, heavy pampering.

She ended up pleasantly surprised. The spa ponies saw her need for true relaxation and hurried to her side. Extricating her from the well-meaning Rarity, they hustled her off to the steam room first, followed by a well-deserved pony pedi. By the time she realized exactly how much her feet had been aching, she found herself having her mane professionally combed out. Twilight, after days of little sleep and strange exhaustion, finally began to truly unwind. When the spa ponies saw their work taking its effect, they led her back to one of the main rooms where, alongside a chatting Fluttershy and Rarity, Twilight stretched out on a massage table. The hooves pressing gently, then firmly, into her back, magically found all of the stress knots and aches she'd developed without even knowing. She let out a blissful sigh. Next to her, her friends exchanged knowing looks and settled down to enjoy their own expert massages.

Twilight would never remember falling asleep, though she'd later berate herself for not recognizing the possibility the moment she'd settled on the table. Her friends had secretly hoped it would happen, and Fluttershy tapped Rarity with a hoof to point out their friend contentedly snoozing beside them. Both mares softly congratulated one another for a job well done; they truly had been blindsided by how _bad_ Twilight looked, and relaxing her to sleep was precisely what they'd hoped the spa ponies could do.

For some time after that, all was well. Fluttershy and Rarity enjoyed their massages secure in the knowledge that they had helped out a friend, and Twilight slumbered peacefully under the skilled ministrations of a spa pony. Said pony, satisfied with her work, gave her charge's shoulders one last knead before leaving Twilight to her rest. Of course, it could not last, not with the circumstances Twilight had unknowingly thrown herself into being as they were. Thus, while Rarity and Fluttershy chatted amicably about nothing in particular, and Twilight's masseuse took her break, the energies in Twilight's mind began to coalesce, to shift once more, and...

_Rain beating the ground... gloriously strong, vicious, violent... the lightning tearing across the sky... rip it asunder... rip it rip it rip it oh how fantastic, how magnificent, how inspired..._

_ "Discord!" What was this? Brilliant! A lovely snow-white guest to share the beauty... now to show her, just to show her..._

_ "What have you done? What have you done, you _monster_?" Monster? Monster? Oh, how quaint, how utterly precious. She thought... oh, how unenlightened! No no no, it would never do. He'd have to show her, show her everything, show her the _wonder_ of it..._

_ Energies clashed... pain... so much pain... it all ripped asunder again, but this time the screams..._

"Twilight! Twilight Sparkle!"

It took Twilight longer than it should have to realize that the screams she was hearing came not from the vision but from her own muzzle. When she finally understood this, she shut her mouth with an audible snap, trying to calm herself enough to take stock of the situation.

She was on the polished floor of the spa, legs haphazardly waving in the air and framing the faces of two very concerned, almost frightened mares. Her friends looked at her expectantly, waiting for some sort of resolution to the disturbing sight they'd just witnessed. All Twilight could do, being still confused, was lower her ears sheepishly and squeak out the only question that really fit the situation.

"What am I doing on the ground?"

The sound of her voice seemed to reassure her friends, at least enough for Fluttershy to sit down with a shaky sigh while Rarity worked her nervous energy into an overly boisterous retelling.

"What are you doing on the ground? Twilight, you don't remember?" Twilight made to answer, but Rarity shook her head with almost theatrical exasperation and bowled right over any attempt. "You were sleeping so soundly, just as Fluttershy and I hoped you would. Then you... you..." she trailed off, too overcome to properly continue. Luckily, Fluttershy had composed herself well enough to chime in.

"You started twitching, and then... then you started giggling, and crying, and... and..."

"Twilight," Rarity offered, "you screamed. Like a... a banshee, or somesuch. We thought you were hurt! Then you started... _flailing_, and you rolled off of the table. Is _that_ why you haven't been sleeping? Twilight, darling, that is not stress, that is..."

"Some sort of terrible nightmare!" Fluttershy finished, body trembling in a sudden shudder. Both of them ended with very expectant, if sympathetic, looks down at the still-prone Twilight.

They clearly wanted some sort of answers from her, likely some admission of greater issues than mere academic stress. Twilight, however, was not delivering, for in truth, she'd only half listened to their explanation. The moment she'd asked her question some sort of mental floodgate had opened, and Twilight actually remembered real details of what had woken her. She remembered a storm more violent, more destructive than anything she had ever seen. She remembered a terrifying, otherworldly vividness to her dreamsight that she'd only vaguely been aware of before. She remembered the sight of a beautiful, gleaming white creature that she could easily, even in her shocked state, identify as Celestia. Most importantly, though, she remembered the exact words she'd heard her beloved mentor speak. Two of them were of particular importance and made the shorter hairs of her mane bristle: "monster"...and "Discord."

Discord. Suddenly it was all too clear, all too _painfully_ clear that her nightly disturbances were somehow tied to that chaotic monstrosity, and the enormity of the realization made her all but deaf to her friends' words. Twilight simply lay there, mind frantically going over all she could remember from the past few terrible nights. There wasn't much, honestly: white and blue that she could now identify as the princesses, feelings of bizarre, chaotic euphoria that could only be the workings of his twisted mind... She stiffened. His mind. _His_ mind? By Celestia's mane... she had to get to her books! There was no way these were _normal _nightmares, not with that bizarre content, not considering what she'd been doing recently. It was too coincidental, _far_ too coincidental, and there were other things about what she'd seen: the random events, the admittedly wonderful joy during some images, the utter _strangeness_ of how things looked when she... _was_ she looking through his eyes? Was that it? Was that why everything was so completely disjointed? But then why Celestia? Why Luna? Why, why, _why_?

No, this settled it. This was not stress. It was not some sort of emotional reaction to her concern over the princess. This was... oh _hayseeds, _of course she'd been drained! This was magic, somehow, some sort of magic while she slept, and so she'd been drained because... Twilight leaped to her hooves. She needed her books, and she needed them now! This sudden epiphany could give her the inspiration needed to finally figure out what was wrong with the princess. She had no time to waste; she needed to-

Taking a quick glance around her, Twilight felt her sudden burst of determination fizzle out like a wet match. Rarity and Fluttershy were staring at her not only with concern, but with complete bemusement. Now, at least, her mind was rejuvenated by the possibility of solving the whole mess and nimbly offered an excuse.

"Oh, that _always_ happens when I study too much! You must've had that dream: you're taking the most important exam of your life, and suddenly your quill breaks! And no one has a... a spare... ha ha! You know how I overreact sometimes!" Ponyfeathers, they weren't buying it. She withered slightly under her friends' incredulous looks. Both unicorn and pegasus looked ready to grill her with more probing questions, but she'd made up her mind. With an apologetic smile, she trotted towards the door. "Anyway, I must be off!"

"You can't be serious!" Rarity cried out after her. "At least stay for some more-"

"No, no. I really have to get back to studying. Best thing for academic stress is being adequately prepared, as I'm sure you know! Thank you for the break, though. I'll see you girls later!"

With that, she was gone, leaving a confused Rarity, Fluttershy, and pair of spa ponies staring at a swinging door.

"I... I guess she's okay?" Fluttershy ventured, rustling her wings with uncertainty.

Rarity sighed. "I supposed there is not much more we can do. Well, we'll just have to watch her. For now... back to work!"

The two of them spent the rest of their afternoon dozing in a luxuriant mudbath.

* * *

><p>"More tea, Spike! I have a lot more books to go through!"<p>

Twilight peered closely at the text of _Mental Magic and You_, ignoring the worried look her dragon threw in her direction.

"Are you sure, Twi? You know you haven't been sleeping well, and I'm not sure that walk you took had the right effect." Nevertheless, he set a new mug of tea on her desk. "Maybe you should take the night off, too."

"Nonsense, Spike. I think I'm getting close to a breakthrough; I can't stop now!" She looked up from the tome to see her assistant still looking unsure... and tired. She sighed.

"You, on the other hoof, should go to bed. I'll come up once I've figured some more of this out." She turned back to the passage she'd been reading, hoping he'd heed her advice. For a moment, it looked as if he was preparing to be stubborn, but he only yawned and nodded.

"Yeah... I guess you're right. I'll see you tomorrow." Spike began to trudge tiredly up the loft stairs. Before he reached the upper floor, he spoke one last time.

"Please don't stay up too late, Twi? I... I really am worried about you. The others are, too. Applejack was here for a book on tree grafting, and she said-"

"I know, Spike. I know, and I appreciate your concern. But I'm fine, really. I promise." She beamed at him with the most reassuring smile she could make. "I'll come up soon. Really."

"...okay," he sighed, seemingly placated. "Good night, then."

"Good night!"

The moment he was out of sight, she returned to her book, and the second she heard his quiet snoring she walked over to the shelves and picked out a few more. Twilight did not have the same problem she'd had before; there were plenty of books with great details on mental manipulation spells. Each went into numerous aspects of the controversial craft: method, intent, proper energy balance, how to get the exact visions installed in a host mind. It was all there, but it wasn't _quite_ what she was looking for. What she needed was a good description of a victim's experience, not instructions and theory... ah! Here!

"'A First-Hand Account of Energy Receiving During Sleep,' by Sibyl Crystal-Gazer. Hmm... this is it!"

It was exact, a veritable text-book example. It was all there. The ruined sleep, the strange images from a strange point of view, the residual emotion upon waking, all tied in with the most important symptom: a feeling of magical drainage that could not be otherwise explained. All of the other things could be written off as especially bad dreams brought on by stress, but that unique feeling, as if she'd been casting spells all night instead of slumbering in bed, had no other possible origin that she could figure out.

Someone had been sending her magical energy while she slept; it was the only explanation. The nature of what she'd seen, what she'd felt and heard suggested... but how was that possible? How could Discord, rightly locked away in his stony prison, do such a thing? How... wait. _Wait_! By the sun and moon, what if he was doing the same thing to the princess? The princess could have been suffering the same strange visions, doggedly keeping her misery a secret to keep her subjects from worrying. Twilight bit her lip; it was precisely the selfless sort of thing Celestia would do for them. She _had_ to help, had to! But... what could she do?

All right. Options. What were her options? She could write to the princess... no, she'd crossed that off her list a long time ago. She could... go to her friends? Now? Oh, but it was so late... and besides, something about telling her friends that Discord might have still been active did not sit right with her. She did not want to panic anybody, not when they were all just recovering from their ordeal. Besides, this was a magical problem, not something most of them had any experience with. That left the final option, one not particularly savory but oddly more acceptable than the others: deal with it herself.

She thought about it, trying to weigh the pros and cons and coming up with no conclusive answer. It was a downright dangerous idea, but at the same time it was becoming more and more appealing. There was something about it that just seemed _right_, like everything would be solved right when she... if she... _the statue_. She had to get to the statue. Somehow, _somehow, _everything would be clear as long as she made it to the statue. Now. She had to go now. Right now, at one in the morning. Definitely.

It was utterly bizarre, and she might have labeled it as some form of mind control, but Twilight felt absolutely no magic activity in the vicinity. All she felt was the greatest conviction that the next step she had to take was going to that large meadow and examining the statue. She had to do it immediately, before she lost the senseless sort of courage that this sort of sureness tended to grant. Filled with resolve, Twilight grabbed the book she'd been reading, glanced upstairs to make sure Spike was still asleep, and hurried out the door.

Outside, the night was mild, common for a young spring in Ponyville. The streets were empty as she trotted along the familiar path, the air silent except for the click of hooves on cobblestone and the tentative chirps of insects freshly awoken from their winter sleep. Twilight ignored the gentle sounds; she even ignored the beautiful silver moon and stars that Luna had likely worked quite hard on. She was set, determined, and thus focused on little else but getting to the edge of town. Once there, she finally allowed herself to pause at the meadow's edge. The tall grass gleamed with a silvery sheen, perfectly uniform and almost ethereal in Luna's moonlight. The only thing out of place was a defined path through the wildflowers that cut straight from where Twilight stood to the foot of the statue in the meadow's center. Swallowing nervously, she took a deep breath to draw strength from whatever inner bravery had brought her this far. Her fur ruffled gently in a sudden breeze as she took a step forward, then another, and another, until she found herself once again looking up into the frozen face of her great enemy.

He was somehow more intimidating at night, despite the fact that this night was not at all dark. The moonlight, while illuminating everything else in an almost ponytale splendor, only served to lend a creepy sort of effect to the rock. It almost seemed to glow from within, as if it had some sort of inner energy... well, of course it had: a particularly obnoxious draconequus was trapped inside, after all. Still... creepy. Definitely creepy. Twilight shuddered a little before focusing back on the task at hoof. The task... at... she blinked.

That encouraging conviction was... gone. Just gone. Just like that, she found herself standing in the middle of the meadow with Discord's creepy statue, with absolutely no clue as to what to do next. She took her book out of her saddlebags and perused the relevant passages again, hoping to regain whatever inspirational spark had sent her here in the first place. Nothing. She had... nothing. Well, not entirely nothing. No, now Twilight had frustrated anger, a feeling that burned with ever-increasing fervor as she glared at the stone before her. Her eyes gleamed with this fury, this complete indignation at her situation. They'd _beaten_ this monster already; how _dare_ he cause her to suffer again? How dare he cause the princess, the kindest, most wonderful creature Twilight knew, to suffer? How was any of this fair? In her state she never even questioned how she knew that all of these hardships were coming from Discord; the same source of bravery that had led her here was giving her complete and utter confidence that it was _all his fault_. She knew, knew this in a way that was only comparable to how Pinkie sometimes just knew things, and in her turmoil she did not even think to question it. Instead, she began to fume, and as she fumed, she began to speak.

"I know this is all your fault, Discord. All of it. You've done something to the princess, and now you're doing something to me! There is no one else out there who would want to hurt _either_ of us, so don't think that I'm not on to you! Don't think that I won't stop you!" She glared up at his frozen face, as if expecting some response. When none came she let out a frustrated snarl, beginning to circle around his base as if seeing him from a different angle would give her some enlightenment.

"You think that you can play with the rest of us like this? I won't let you! You hear me? I. Will. _Not. Let. You_!" She could have melted glass with her expression, but the statue before her remained impassive.

At this point, Twilight Sparkle did something that she had been taught, very strictly, not to do all the way back in Magic Kindergarten. It was the first, most important lesson taught to any young unicorn, repeated over and over again throughout their magical training. She had never broken this all-important rule, not even when Discord had threatened her world before. Now, however, with fear for herself and her mentor, with sleep deprivation, with chilling doubt all churning furiously in her thoughts, she broke that rule. For the first time, Twilight Sparkle allowed her anger to govern her magic.

The energy curled up the lines of her horn with frightening speed; all around her, the wind picked up, whipping the grass and clawing at the ground. With a savage yell, Twilight released all of that magic in a focused beam, aiming at the cause of all her pent up emotion: the statue right in front of her. The resulting flash of light and color, an impressive release of energy, actually managed to knock her back, and the next thing she knew, she was staring up at a blurry night sky. If the nightly visions had not fully drained her of her magic, that had, and she had to lay still for a moment, groaning softly, as all of the blurred points of light resharpened into the stars and moon.

That had not gone well. Oh, she was momentarily glad Celestia seemed so preoccupied lately; that had been downright embarrassing, losing control of herself like that. What would her mentor think, if she'd seen, if she'd felt it? Twilight weakly shook her head, wincing at the quickly-growing headache as she fought to stand up. What in the world had she been thinking, firing off a blast like that? A novice mistake, entirely unforgivable... she sighed. Oh, but at least no one had been awake to see it. She glanced back towards the town. No; no candles being lit, no noise indicating any disturbed sleepers. At least she hadn't ruined that. Her shame began to fade, helped along by exhaustion. There was no sense in blaming herself for something born of the emotional mess she'd been the past few days; she'd learned _that_ lesson multiple times during her stay in Ponyville. Best to just thank the powers that be that nothing was seriously damaged, vow to never let herself get so stressed again, and go home. Well, if she _could_ go home, which she still could not bring herself to do. She'd come here to deal with her problems at the source. Twilight frowned. Was he really the source? She'd been so sure just a moment ago, before her little meltdown, but now...

Had it all just been anger? Desperation for an answer? Twilight approached the statue, completely unharmed by the blast, and studied it again. No... no, there was something to this. Untainted by fury, she could still feel that little kernel of truth deep within, a strange pulse insisting that she was right where she should be. Insistent, but incomprehensible. Outstanding. She breathed out in a frustrated huff.

"What else can I do? I can't write to the princess, I can't tell my friends... and all that magic was useless. Maybe..." Maybe going home was the right decision tonight. If she got lucky, she'd finally have a restful sleep and awaken with the energy to really make some headway with this mental magic angle. Yes... that was probably for the best. All she had to do was... hold on.

Twilight's ears pricked up, the very tips quivering at the sudden presence of something in the air. The familiar tingle of magic, not residual blast magic but a different sort, laced the air around her. She looked around in confusion. Was there another unicorn about, casting some spell? No; she was still alone in the meadow save for the crickets, mice, and owls. Then what was that trace feeling?

_Now, now, my dear, I do believe you are being much too hard on yourself. I would hardly call that fantastic bit of magic useless._

That voice. _That voice._ Outwardly, she'd heard nothing, but that unmistakable voice rang in her head clear as a school's bell. No. _No!_ It couldn't be! She could not have... it had been a powerful blast, but... no. No, the statue was definitely intact. Perfectly unharmed.

But by Celestia's mane, she could feel the magic clinging to it, emanating from it, a magic whose feel she now recognized all too easily. Twilight gaped at it in horror, taking a step back, then another, her entire body ready to heed her instinct's order to run. She couldn't do it, though. No matter how badly she wanted to flee, all she could truly do was stand, as frozen as the statue, while Discord's voice spoke soundlessly in her mind.

_Come now, Twilight Sparkle. Is that how you greet an old friend? Don't I even get a 'hello?'_

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you for reading._  
><em>


	4. 3: In Which Magic and Chaos Chat

A/N: Onwards.  
>AN the second: All grammatical errors seen in the Lord of Chaos' sections are intentional.

Disclaimer: I own nothing pony.

* * *

><p>Chapter 3: In Which Magic and Chaos Chat<p>

When it came right down to it, the whole thing had been incredibly difficult. Now, Discord certainly did not plan on _telling_ anyone that. Oh, no, no, no; definitely not. One day, when one of his future adoring subjects asked him to recount the harrowing tale of what was about to unfold, he'd launch into an inspired telling that would omit that little detail. Oh, of course he'd make it all seem properly _daring;_ there was no question about that. How could he not? All those dreadfully dull little ponies would surely appreciate a suspenseful story, and he'd make sure the tale of his second escape did not disappoint. The truth, though? The real, honest truth?

The truth was that whatever awful throe he'd been in at the time... _what had it been... anger? Despair? That nauseating confusion? Perhaps even a rare tryst with joy? A sick mix? No, no... oh, but who wanted to remember those awful throes now... _had _barely_ released him in time to notice that faintest wisp of otherness just stealing through his prison. Even then the effort he'd had to exert to bring his trembling focus to the edge of his cell was astronomical; if breathing was still an option, he'd have been completely winded. As it was, the only reason he'd managed it had very little to do with his own power;it had much more to do with dear Twilight Sparkle. Not that the energy was strong, or even particularly focused, oh no. It was only a breath of anger, really, just a little burst of petty indignation, admittedly weak and quickly forgotten. If it had been anyone else... well, he doubted anyone else could manage to project any amount of energy into his prison, but that wasn't the point. The point was that Twilight's particular brand of magic had somehow grabbed what little attention he still possessed almost immediately, and he had _pounced_. Ah, but perhaps "pounced" was not the best word. "Pounced," he had to admit, suggested some sort of coordinated grace, and by the time he'd wrested himself from... _oh, it _had_ been despair! Yes, yes, that had been it! Or... or maybe... maybe not. Maybe... ah, what was it? Go back, go look, try to remember. Yes! Yes, yes, yes, go back to look! Except... no, too much of a pull, too much, too much, and he had to _focus..._ whatever_, he'd only been composed enough to clumsily fumble at that barest whisper of her annoyance. Still, he'd fought. He'd fought absurdly hard, and he likely would have been fairly embarrassed by how difficult it all was if he hadn't been so mesmerized by the result.

Twilight Sparkle's little burst of fury had been brief, sure, but oh, _oh_, it had been something _different_! Something different, something other than the sick twisting of his own fragmented thoughts, something other than the _self_ that he'd been stuck with since... when? How long had it been since he'd been imprisoned in that forsaken hunk of rock? How long since he'd had the relief of something to look at, something to examine, something _other_ to touch and test and caress? Eons, it must have been. It felt like eons. It would always feel like... e_ons? Oh, perish the thought, must have been only a few seconds! Or days? Maybe a couple of hours? No, certainly decades, yes, yes, definitely a fortnight... _forever, but...

Well, no matter. Best not to dwell on _that_ now, not after he'd worked so _damnably_ hard. Pulling oneself out of a throe, see, was no simple task. Not for him, at least. Not when all of that energy, all of that _fantastic _chaotic energy turned around and... oh, but when he'd finally managed to _grasp_ it, wrap his consciousness around that little sliver, what a _miracle_! That was all that mattered, in the end: that he'd done it! He'd giggled and chortled over it, pulling and pushing and twisting and caressing until familiarity with every nuance was his. Then, oh then, he'd _listened_ to it, that cheeky little smidgen of indignation, listened to the ghost of Twilight's voice in its echoes. He'd listened, and he'd sighed and he'd... _relaxed_. Only for a moment, of course. All of that energy would only let him relax for the tiniest moment, but he'd been here before, and he'd known how to make that moment count. Thus, in those precious seconds of relief, Discord had plotted.

He was proud of what he'd managed in such a short amount of time, and with such dismal limits imposed upon his abilities. Granted, his mind was almost ridiculously quick, but he'd had, and still had, precious little to work with, not to mention the... _obstacles_. The gap in his prison was small. Infinitesimal. Minute. Microscopic. Nano-sized, mini, itsy-bitsy... _small. Small, small, small, focus, it was small. _Yes. Let's just say it was a small opening, and as far as he'd been able to tell, it went to Twilight. Just Twilight. That was limiting enough, needing to fit energy through such a tiny hole that only Twilight's consciousness seemed able to reach through, but that was not the half of it. Probably not even a fourth or... _oh, maybe an eighth? A sixteenth? Let's see... how to measure this little... ooh... maybe one six hundred and eighty-third! Or maybe... no no no no focus focus focus! _

Ah, yes. The greatest issue was and always would be the lack of that nifty little thing that he liked to think of as _his ability to focus on one thing for more than a millisecond_. That commodity was in drastically _short_ supply here in the insipid land of Granite Statue...topia? -tan? -ville? _-stan, -ton, -burg.. focus!_ Focus, he had to _focus_. That was the most pressing issue, to put it mildly, and after trying in vain to calm the chaos... _ha, calming chaos? What an utter joke, and not even a properly hilarious one! As if that was even... _ after struggling with all of those built up energies, he'd realized that that limit was not negotiable. Pity, really, but it was what it was, and Discord could not afford to mope over such matters. He had no time for melancholy, no time and no chances to take ..._don't fall in again, don't fall in, focus, think now, focus, focus..._ so he'd done all that he could do: he'd focused what energy he could at the break and... well, _thrown_ it. That was the best term, he supposed. At that point, whatever concentration he'd managed to glean from the brief moment of respite her "gift" had given him was swiftly swallowed up by sweet chaos, and so grabbing and throwing energy at that hole and through that connection was all he could do. He'd had absolutely no idea what he was sending her, but he hadn't cared. Energy was energy, and all he'd needed it to accomplish werethree things: first: widen the hole. Second: reach the unicorn. Third: _focus_. Blindly pelting the gap with whatever energy he been able to gather was probably _not_ something he would detail in his future autobiography, but it had served its purpose. The more energy he'd used, the wider the gap had grown, and using that energy to widen said gap kept it from tearing at his tenuous hold on sanity: a clear win-win. As he'd came back to himself more and more often, he'd chuckled in satisfaction at what was clearly a growing success.

The more he'd worked, the easier it had become. A tedious process, to be sure, and not one he'd ever willingly admit to using, but now he possessed the faculties to detail his sparse machinations further. The gap was a much more respectable hole, and while he still couldn't properly examine the energy he was sending through, he could recognize the next step to freedom... at least generally. He had to use Twilight Sparkle somehow. Oh, how he wished he could come up with something more interesting than "use Twilight, duh," but even now, with some of the energy nibbling away at his prison instead of at him, he couldn't be too careful. Too much effort, too much complexity, and everything would turn on him at once, and then... well, then the _unpleasantness_ would prevent progress for who knew how long. Not affordable; definitely not affordable. Simple was how it had to be, and while that was not his preferred modus operandi, he wanted out... _out out out must get out get out get out..._ and simple led to out faster than complex did. That, and loathe though he was to admit it, it really was all he could manage in this dismal state. Simple it was.

Thus he pondered, schemed, planned. Twilight Sparkle: the leader of the Elements of Harmony. Twilight Sparkle: the only one he could reach, probably _because_ she was that lead Element. Twilight Sparkle... Twilight Sparkle was... Twilight was... was yelling at him? He found his gingerly-arranged thoughts suddenly interrupted by the burning ire of a consciousness other than his own. For a moment, he came dangerously close to falling back in again, letting the chaos latch onto his shock and morph it into another throe that would tear at him for who knew how long. He paused; he floundered; he gasped for a mental breath. She couldn't be... was it a memory playing back again? Had his precious chaos gone and... no. No, it really was her, standing before his statue again, glaring with undisguised viciousness at his stone form. At least, that was the image his mind conjured up for him. In reality, he couldn't see her at all; he could only feel a seething rage seeping in through the now plenty-large gap in the barrier surrounding him.

Here was another pivotal moment he'd have to "improve" upon for history's books. One day, everyone would read about how he had cleverly anticipated the moment of Twilight's arrival, meeting her ire with honeyed words and effortless guile, skillfully manipulating every action to his advantage. The reality? Again, the reality was a far cry from such fanciful imaginings.

That he was not ready was an understatement vulgar in its magnitude. The moment her magic burst through the newly widened space, it... he... He'd _pounced_ the last time. _This _time... this time his mind fell limp with a relief made greater only because he'd forgotten he could feel anything like it. The exquisite uniqueness of it, the myriad shifts and edges of thought noticeable now only because it was so _powerful_... they were like a balm soothing the invisible wound created by all that abysmal effort to keep everything together. For a few seconds he forgot that effort, forgot everything but the beautifully stark contrast of her unbridled fury against the dead black of his lifeless world. He bathed in it, basked in it, _reveled_ in it; what divinity it was, this fury with all of its subtle flows and facets! All there was left to do now was watch it, caress it, curl up in its heat and _just forever and ever and ever so pretty so nice Twilight did I ever tell you your anger is like pop rocks and moonfire and chocolate velvet all at once and oh what a calamitous rectification what a delicious morsel of compound anxiety no stop stop no no NO get up get up GET UP GET UP!_

He awoke again, and if there was some way for a mind to tremble, his did. Too close, that had been, _far_ too close. Even now, he could feel how near the edge he was, how easily he could just reach out and touch her flame and fall... no! No, no, this was what he'd been _waiting_ for; another chance like this might not come again. Not if he ruined this first all important contact. No, he had to pull together. He had to _do_ this, because this meant out, out, _out out out_...

All right. All right, this was simple. Easy. Easy-peasy lemon squeezy. Haha! Exactly. Exactly exactly. He could do this. This was _fine_. Nice and easy. There we go... reach out, do not frighten too much, _do not_. No... just reach out nice and friendly; be nice, be nice or she'd leave and then and then _and then..._

Discord spoke. He spoke in a mind-voice so calm, so collected, so _normal_ that it almost sent him into cracked peals of laughter, but he _kept it together_. He pacified the boiling energies by latching onto her next delectable emotion, onto her creamy fear, and that kept him steady enough to realize a very, very important thing: he had absolutely no idea what to do next.

* * *

><p>If Discord had not planned his next move, Twilight hadn't even considered the possibility of <em>needing<em> one. The idea that giving his statue a furious blast of magic would somehow grant him freedom had never occurred to her, not even in the most fanciful of nightmares. The result was a very stunned, very _scared_ mare whose thoughts struggled to come up with something other than _ ohmygoshohmygoshDiscord'sbackhe'sbackhe'sbackomygoshohmygosh._ She stood there, quivering and panting and wanting to run but unable to, stood there waiting for something... his claw on her face, his voice uttering some sort of awful riddle_, _the feel of his breath heating the nape of her neck... Frozen, she waited and... waited?

Twilight hadn't realized she'd squeezed her eyes tightly shut until she finally forced them open, driven by a pang of confusion when her anticipation was met with... well, with nothing. She looked around, searching the waving grasses of the meadow for her enemy. Nothing. She turned her face to the sky, but no slithering draconequine form blocked out the twinkling stars.

Fear slowly relinquished its hold, and frustrated confusion swiftly filled its place. She _knew_ she'd heard Discord; that voice was utterly unforgettable. She could not have been mistaken. Impossible. Stiffening her legs in preparation, she called out the moment her voice was working again.

"Discord! I know you're here; show yourself!"

Nothing.

Twilight snorted, anxious and angry. "Discord! You jerk, you- wait. That voice... that voice was in... in my mind." She abandoned her rigid stance, moving forward to examine the statue again. Just as she'd seen before: unharmed. So that meant...

It was just a hunch, one that she feared she'd regret in a few seconds, but she followed it anyway. The soft glow of her horn signaled the beginning of a simple communication spell, and with that magic she wove a delicate strand of consciousness that reached out, probing, prodding, feeling... there! And with that, she was through. With that, she spoke again, but this time her voice was outwardly silent.

_D-Discord?_

A flash of amusement; she could almost hear a throaty chuckle lurking about behind her thoughts.

_The one and only. I see you've finally found your tongue; civil, to boot. A welcome change, I assu-_

Twilight withdrew contact, sitting down heavily in the tall grass. Her breath came in harsh pants, and for a moment, she felt she might actually pass out, so great was the shock of what had just happened.

For the love of all things Equestrian, she'd just spoken to _Discord._ Spirit of Chaos and Disharmony. Monstrosity who had nearly destroyed her friendship. No, no, scratch that. He _had_ destroyed her friendship, and she'd had to fight hoof and horn to get her friends back. This couldn't be happening, not like this, not... hold on, hold on... something was off. As she sat in night's quiet, fear nudging her closer to accepting the idea of running back to town, she realized that she _was_ sitting in essential silence. No creepy voice. No Discord. A second epiphany made her gasp, and curiosity won out against fear as she reached out once more.

_-must stop doing that, Twilight Sparkle. Incredibly rude, if you ask me, to constantly fall silent when I am _trying_ to have a conversation with you! Honestly, do they teach nothing in those unicorn schools nowadays?_

She was breathing fast again, but this time fear's influence had little to do with it. Her little hypothesis had been proven true, and the little burst of satisfaction at a question answered dulled her terror significantly. So, for that matter, did the answer to said question: Discord could only hear her, and she him, when she established a magical connection through... through...

_Through this beautifully crafted statue, dear, yes. I thought it was rather obvious myself; took you quite some time to figure it out, didn't it? And here I thought you were supposed to be something of a prodigy..._

Well, if his thinly-veiled sarcasm was good for anything, it was good for loosening the final grip fear had on her mental voice.

_I didn't figure it out because it's not supposed to _happen!_ You are supposed to be a rock!_

Even while snapping back at him, she swiftly constructed a mental wall and, with some difficulty that she'd later eliminate with practice, partitioned off much of her mind for safe-keeping. His last remark made it rather obvious that, while contact existed, he had access to any thoughts lurking near the surface of her psyche. The fact that she'd felt his amusement a few minutes ago suggested she had the same access. Interesting... very interesting, and again her curiosity grew and calmed her. The initial fear was all but gone, replaced by that instinctive _need_ to know more about this situation. Well, that and anger, but that was no surprise. Anger at the sound of that creepily silky voice was only natural.

_I do believe I _am_ still a rock, Twilight. In fact, I believe you've checked that a few times already, yes? Ah... yes. Haha; rest assured, I can't _actually _see you, but that little thrill of... what was that? Shock? Fear? Befuddled terror? Ooh, yes, let's go with that last one. Anyway, that told me that I was right on the bit with-_

_ If you're stone, how can I talk to you? How are you talking to me? What did you do?_

A mental sigh. _Honestly, Twilight. First you just randomly stop listening to me, and now you interrupt. Why in the world should I tell such an ill-mannered unicorn anything, hmm?_

_ If you don't tell me, I'll... I'll..._

_ You'll what? Go tell your precious Celestia on me? Oh, I'm sure that'll go just swimmingly. Why, I bet-_

_ What did you do to her?_

He paused. He paused, and if she had been less consumed by her growing fury, she might have actually realized it. Instead, she gave in to the ire that she'd pushed back behind those mental walls, letting it finally rush free and take control. How could she not? The moment Discord mentioned the princess, Twilight remembered why she'd come, why she'd hit that wretched statue in the first place. The memories shook themselves free of the cloak of fear that had hidden them, rising to the surface and fueling her indignation to the point of blindness. So it went that Twilight did not notice Discord pause, and that was just as well for him, for if she had, it may all have ended right then and there. Instead, she pushed headlong into a rant.

_This is all your fault! First you nearly destroy Ponyville, now you're messing with the princess, and with me! You think you can get away with this? You think I don't realize what's happening? You think you were just going to sneak those horrible things into my dreams? Those horrible... horrible... memories? Thoughts? Ugh, whatever they were, you think you could just use them to hurt us? _  
>Silence, but she kept going.<p>

_Well, it didn't work on me, Discord! And I don't care what horrible things you've shown the princess; once I've spoken with her about this, we'll defeat you once and for all! We'll gather the Elements again, and we'll-_

Laughter now, laughter that didn't lurk about under the surface but bubbled shamelessly over it. Twilight nearly broke the connection again, emotions turning almost violent at the sound of his merriment. The only thing that kept it intact was a sudden flame of defiance, a need to prove her will against what she understood as the most evil thing she had ever faced. Trembling but resolute, Twilight waited for his mental guffaws to cease, eyes unconsciously narrowing when he spoke again.

_Oh, Twilight, Twilight, Twilight. You really do think you have everything figured out, don't you? Honestly, I could just go on and _on_ about that healthy sense of arrogance dear Celestia has cultivated in you, but since I'm such a wonderfully charming fellow, I think I'll answer your questions instead._

She automatically scoffed at the statement. Undaunted, he continued.

_To answer your first question, I have done nothing with your princess. As we have already established, I am currently residing in this charming hunk of rock. Rather cramped, actually, and I have the most awful crick in my neck, but that's neither here nor there, I suppose. As for what I've shown you..._

Another pause, one that Twilight actually noticed. She also noticed, to her chagrin, that he'd put up the same mental walls she had; additional probing yielded no clues regarding his words. Whether he could feel her investigation was a mystery Perhaps he couldn't, for he continued without comment.

_Seeing how incredibly boring it is in here, why don't you humor me, my little pony? What do _you_ think I've shown you?_

Twilight felt the shortest hairs of her mane bristle at his question, and her mind immediately scrambled for an answer. Was this some sort of trick, another crafty riddle designed to make her stumble, fail, and throw her world into terrible danger all over again? She remembered the last one well, that was certain. She remembered how she'd fallen prey to his silver tongue, how he hadn't even _lied,_ just talked circles and postured until he'd had her precisely where he wanted her. Then... oh, by Celestia's mane, then everything had fallen completely to pieces, and their lives had nearly been shattered forever. No, she could not let it happen. She would not allow him to exploit her a second time; _never_ again.

With that firm resolution coloring all her thoughts, Twilight struggled for her next words. Her anger bled out from behind her mental wall; she knew he could sense it, but she did not care. Rather than blinding her, anger gave her strength, and she finally answered with a ferocity that Rainbow Dash would have been proud of.

_It doesn't matter what I think you've shown me. It's a trick, all of it! And I'm _not _saying anything to you. I'm going straight to the princess, and that's that. Good bye!_

_Now, wait a minute! Wait!_

By all rights, she should have kept her word. She should have turned her back on his voice and his petrified form. She should have followed the moonlight back across the meadow to her home and worked up a sensible plan from there. Instead, she found her anger waning again. His voice, rather than being laced with its trademark amusement, carried a current of desperation that reached past her ire and tickled at curiosity once more.

Certainly her entire being remained focused on the idea of an impending trap, but oh, it was difficult. At her core lay that insatiable curiosity, a trait that drove so much of her life, and it vied with her caution and anger for control of her actions. Really though, how could she not be curious? She had heard Discord speak in a good number of tones, but this was something new, something she'd never even conceived of. So different, though... it had to be a trap! A trap staring her right in the face, and here she was reaching back out in response. Foolish. Idiotic. Shameful.

She did it anyway.

_What can you possibly have to say that I would want to hear, Discord? _

It took a couple of seconds for an answer, and that only made her more suspicious. Still she remained, her interest actually growing with the wait. When his voice came, the tone was normal, if a little whining.

_ Come now; I'm only asking for a little fun; is that so wrong? _

_Wrong?_ Anger won out for a moment, and her mind's voice came shrill and vicious. _Wrong? You think that giving me such horrible nightmares about the princesses isn't wrong? You think hurting Princess Celestia isn't wrong? If that's what you call "fun," then you're more of a monster than I thought. _

_Twilight Sparkle, I'm shocked! A monster? Really? Is that any way to treat someone who wants to help you? Here I was, all ready to assist you with your little princess problem, and you're saying such nasty things! Why, I don't think any amount of entertainment is worth _this_ much rudeness. I think this conversation is over._

_Wait!_

Now it was her turn to sound frantic, and behind her walls she cringed in shame. Here was the trap; it didn't take a genius to recognize it. It was so obvious, it was almost laughable. In fact, it _was_ laughable, and she had the absurd urge to giggle as she mulled over his words. Help her with the princess? Did he honestly think her so foolish as to fall for something so obvious? Insulting! And yet...

And yet she couldn't leave it be. She couldn't break away from him and run. Even though she knew it was a trap, _knew_ that he was trying to deceive her, the sudden possibility of finally gaining information about the princess was too tempting to ignore. The danger inherent in dealing with Discord seemed so much less, so insignificant, when compared to the knowledge she might gain to help her beloved mentor. Thus Twilight wavered, and thus she called out to the chaos spirit she knew sought to harm her. The effect was immediate.

_Ah... a change of heart, then? _

Twilight swallowed nervously; how she handled this now was crucial. Maybe... maybe if she was careful, _really_ careful, she could gain something without losing too much.

_I... what do you mean, help with the princess?_

The laugh that answered her was dark enough to nearly make her regret her words. Nearly. Once he had his fill of mental cackles, he continued with words that only increased her indecision.

_I mean exactly what I say, my dear Twilight._ _I have some incredibly interesting information about sweet Celestia that I'm sure you'd find useful considering the current... situation. Why in the world do you think I sent those little samples, worked so hard to call you here, hmm? You think it's __easy getting through solid __rock, even for me? _

This time, Twilight kept her composure, ignoring what she could identify as verbal padding and keeping her mind-voice calm, even as her mind raced. Calling her? He'd been calling? That would explain the dreams, wouldn't it? That would explain... but no! No, it had to be a lie, a trick, _something_. There was no way he would have called her here out of any sort of concern or kindness. Definitely not; there was no way altruism could come from such a creature. There was something here, some sort of catch. She reanalyzed his words, his tone, even tried to feel through his own mental walls for some sort of clue, but there was nothing. All she felt was a sense of expectancy, clearly him waiting for her answer. Twilight had no time to come up with a clever retort, try as she might to think of one, so she did all she could: she got right down to the point.

_What do you know about the princess, and what's the price? _

_ The price? My dear, _dear_ Twilight, what makes you think I would want something in return?_

No amount of curiosity could override the utter disbelief _that_ inspired, and she made it quite clear. There was no reason to block her skepticism from breaching her mental wall.

_ Oh ho, learned a few things from our last meeting, did you? Well, you always were the smart one, so I suppose I shouldn't be surprised. Fine, fine; let's get down to business._

He paused again, and she took the moment to ready her defenses. Inwardly, she reinforced her barriers, reaffirmed her purpose and her resolve. Outwardly, it felt as if every hair stood on end in anticipation. Her ears flicked forward, unnecessary but quite unconscious, and Twilight took a deep breath when Discord... began to laugh again. As quickly as she'd tensed, she relaxed. Anticipation became annoyance. Stupid jerk of a spirit; couldn't he take anything seriously?

_ Hey! If you don't tell me what you want in the next _three seconds_, I'm leaving! One... tw-_

Juvenile, yes. Effective? Also yes.

_My apologies, dear. Goodness, keep your horseshoes on! You're just so _adorable_, all ready to take on the big bad spirit of chaos! Why, it must be one of the cu- _

_ ONE. TWO. THR-_

_ All right, all right. To business. Ahem. _

The way his tone shifted was unnerving despite it being what she wanted, and Twilight bristled at how even and blunt it suddenly became. She tried to calm herself, relying on memories of just this sort of strange mannerism all those weeks ago. Whether he knew it disturbed she did not know, but it wouldn't have surprised her if he did. It would be just like him to use every possible method to confuse her. Twilight snorted, a sound heard only by herself and the crickets whose chirps answered her. It didn't matter what he tried; she'd be ready.

_ I propose the following deal, Twilight Sparkle: I will tell you what I know of Celestia and her... _issues_. In return, I ask only this: you shall speak with me for a minimum of two hours every day._

To say that Twilight was baffled was a gross understatement. At first, she thought she'd horribly misheard. Then she thought that she'd hallucinated his words, or perhaps that he'd shifted reality in some way. It was only when his silence stretched on into the seconds that she even toyed with the idea that she had heard correctly.

_You... you want me to _talk_ to you?_

_Would you like me to repeat it? You shall speak with me fo-_

_ Are you _kidding_?_

She fully expected him to laugh again, announcing some ridiculous punchline to follow what clearly had to be a joke. So deep was her bafflement that she sat down, muscles going slack as she stared up at the motionless statue. A joke. It _had _to be a joke.

_ Do I sound as if I am kidding, Twilight Sparkle?._

When incredulity kept her voice hostage, he sighed.

_ I may be the spirit of chaos, disharmony, rugged good looks, and fantastic jokes, but that does not mean I am incapable of being serious from time to time. That is my offer. Take it or leave it. And __do hurry with your decision, my dear. While I possess many wonderful virtues, patience did seem to pass me up. _

Sure enough, with those words came trickles of fidgeting impatience that tickled her psyche. They combined with her own need to resolve the impossible situation before her to create an anxiety the likes of which she'd never felt before. Her mind threatened to come to a panicked halt, a fact that she fervently hoped he could not recognize as she scrambled to come up with some sort of answer. So many questions and conditions came to the forefront, but in the end she could only utter one mental word:

_Why_?

Still he did not laugh, something both oddly encouraging and chillingly ominous.

_I'll put it simply: being encased in stone is boring. Being the embodiment of chaos and being encased is stone is _excruciatingly_ boring. Nothing to hear, nothing to see. Absolutely nothing to do, and while my voice does sound quite lovely, even it gets tiresome after a while. So-_

_ So you want me to... to just talk to you? That's it?_

She was so surprised, she didn't even notice him chortle at how breathless she sounded.

_ That's it. You entertain me, I tell you what you need to know. Wonderfully easy, and both of us get what we want. How about it, my dear? Shall we seal the deal? _

Her world shuddered to a halt. She was suddenly deaf to everything: his voice, the night sounds around her, the wind rustling the grass, everything but the deep thudding of her racing heart. Here it was at last: the moment of truth, the instance when she committed to fully matching her wits against those of this ageless demon. The question rose up before her, an ominous and daunting monolith that she could not see past.

_"Shall we seal the deal?"_

By all that was Equestrian, what now? Fighting to keep her anxiety hidden, Twilight took a deep breath and struggled to call up that which had always helped her: logic. Sweet, straightforward, glorious logic. She could do this with logic, order it and dismantle it and pick it apart the same way she had every difficult decision in her life. Identify the pros. Name the cons. Lay every little detail and aspect bare to consider and catalog. Make an organized list. Number them. Add up the values. Rinse. Repeat. Reach a balanced conclusion. Rejoice. Relax with a cup of tea and a good book.

It was a tried and true formula that had helped her innumerable times before, but as she tried to use it now, all she felt was chilling nausea. There were too many unknowns, too many unseen dangers lurking in Discord's seemingly innocent offer. That was a given; this was Discord she was talking to.

There should not have been an advantage big enough to even consider making a deal with him. Rejection should have been easy; it should have been her choice the moment she'd heard his voice. She squirmed at these thoughts, for the fact remained that no matter how greatly the negative outweighed the positive, she could not bring herself to outright dismiss the offer.

Information about the princess. A chance to help her mentor. A resolution to all of the uncertainty and worry of the past few weeks. All of these things, these greatest desires, erased any notion of danger from her mind. They begged her to say yes, pleaded with her, and the more she tried to ignore them, the weaker she felt against their might. Logic said no. Logic said run. Love, however, love joined with compassion and caring and need to scream at her in a soundless voice that drowned everything else out. That voice screamed "yes."

Twilight shivered from horn tip to hooves as she felt for Discord's presence once again, calling up a hesitant mind-voice to...

She balked. There it was, just as she'd expected, just as instinct had warned. Apparently even he could not hide it, so true it was to his nature, so strong: a pure, unabashed smugness that made her gag when it touched her mind. There it was, a warning that practically flashed neon rainbows for how _obvious _it was. No amount of concern for the princess could mask the feeling of slimy satisfaction slithering about in the shadows of their combined unconscious, and the sudden shock of the evil she might have just agreed to made her cry out, mentally and physically.

_No!_

If her rejection had any negative effect, it didn't show. The emotion he was radiating did not change, except perhaps to grow stronger, more vile. He was probably _entertained_ by it, really. She grit her teeth at the thought.

_Never. I'll _never_ make a deal with you_.

_So sure, Twilight Sparkle? _

Oh, yes. Definitely entertained. The _monster_. To think she had even _considered_...

_I can assure you, you will not find a better deal in aaaaaaall of Equestria! In fact, I bet you've already tried, haven't you? Turned your little library topsy turvy looking for a cure for Celestia's crazies, no? Well, Twilight, there is no-_

_ Be quiet! _Fury gave her voice a confidence she did not feel. _I don't need _your_ help to help the princess, and there is _nothing_ in Equestria that can change that. I will never, _ever_, _EVER_ make a deal with a... a... a _creature_ that amuses himself by breaking up friendships and destroying the fabric of reality! I am _leaving_, and-_

She had to stop; his laughter, once a soft giggle accompanying her biting words, had climbed into raucous howls of mirth. He was so loud it _hurt_, and Twilight winced in pain even as she mustered a good deal of magic to yell above him.

_ Expect a visit from Celestia tomorrow!_ Unsurprisingly, her threat had little effect.

_Oh, Twilight,_ he managed between guffaws, _I'll see you later, my pet. Have a lovely evening! Or morning, or afternoon, or whatever it is out there!_ That was all he could say before he dissolved into more laughter that was almost hyena-like.

Twilight did not bother with mustering more than a mental snarl in response before breaking the magical bond. The moment his laughter vanished from her mind she was off, galloping with rage-borne speed through the tall grasses towards home. Her decision had been made, and there was only one thing to do when she made it to her tree home: rouse Spike from his sleep and send a letter to Celestia.

* * *

><p>When she left, connection severed and silence returned, he did not stop laughing. Oh <em>no<em>, how could he? It was too much, too hilarious, too _unbelievably perfect! _Why, there he'd been, serpentine tongue tied in anxious knots when she'd wormed her precious little mind through that hole he'd worked so desperately to make, realizing all at once that beyond widening that gap, he'd had no plot worked out! None! Now, could anyone imagine that? Discord, Prince of Pandemonium, King of Chaos, Master of Mayhem, was at a loss for ideas! That in and of itself was the _funniest thing ever_, but wait! Wait wait wait! There he'd been, frozen in crippling indecision, when _Twilight_ fixed it all! The best punchline ever, and he hadn't even written it: dear little Twilight Sparkle, prized pupil of stuffy old Celestia, had given him _everything_ he'd needed to know.

She hadn't even known she'd done it! In fact, she could have undone it all, so uncontrolled he'd been, noticed his indecision and doomed him while saving herself in the process. It would have all been _ruined_ but for her! Priceless, that was, utterly priceless, how she'd blindly slipped him every little morsel of information that gave him what he needed to form his plan. Oh, it hadn't been easy, just like making that nifty little hole hadn't been easy, but in the end he'd managed! Yes, he'd managed well. He'd baited her a little bit at first, just given her something to talk at. That had helped _immensely_, helped to ground him and hold him until she spilled the beans like the little _foal_ she was. And oh, by all that was chaotic, what she'd let spill: those few words, that throw-away accusation! What had he done with Celestia, indeed.

Nothing! Nothing, nothing, _nothing_! Ha, if she only knew how completely _incapable_ he was at the moment, that would just make it _funnier, _but _still!_ She'd been so completely convinced that he'd wrought some villainy, and he'd jumped at that faster than... oh, one of those long-legged rabbits he'd graced Equestria with. Celestia. Something was wrong with Celestia. Celly-nelly-welly Celestia, and as she'd ranted, his mind had whittled away at her words in search of some little kernel of _and there it was! _He understood so suddenly he felt light-headed. He understood, he _knew_, and that knowledge immediately reached down with its needling little claws to titillate and tease and torment the memories that supported it. Now _that_ part hadn't been fun, and he'd put a stop to that as quickly as his limited faculties allowed, but it only lasted a second because she kept yelling and squawking and _oh how droll how precious_. He'd let her, and when he finally chose to speak he made sure to goad her, for her anger meant fodder for that twisting in the back and that meant he was clear free and clear _clear and focused and plotting so nicely_. And he'd plotted. Twilight ranted, Discord plotted. Fantastic. Fantastic, but not quite flawless.

It had been touch and go for a moment when she'd tried to leave, and for that moment he _had_ panicked, that frigid blade of emotion cutting him in the way he hated most. That was the worst instant, but he'd saved it in the end, yes he had. Heck, he'd even gone further and had her hint at what he'd sent before, giving him that last little bit he needed to formulate his plan. Brilliant, it had been, in its supreme successful lack of coordination!

Again, even handicapped, his mind was _quick_, and so his plan came together in what little time it took for Twilight to reaffirm her status as wronged heroine. Yes, nice and easy it had come, growing from poor little Celestia's malady_ wasn't that sad so sad so unfortunate little Celly oh but don't look at it not yet no no no _and feeding upon Twilight's needs. He'd use them both, use them to keep that little unicorn tied to him so that he could _watch and rest_ turn her. Use it to turn her away from Celestia and... oh, heck, she didn't even really have to _like_ him. No, no, no. He just needed to sow the ever-useful seeds of doubt in her nerdy little mind, and that would be it! Voila; poof; sha_zam_: disagreement, confusion, wondrous _discord_ between the dear little Elements of Harmony, just as ordered! And what would that do? What would that accomplish, fillies and gentlecolts?

Why, only freedom! Sweet, blessed _freedom!_ It was simple, dare he say logical _ha ha logic oh who'd have ever thought ha ha! _ The seal only _held_ when those who held the Elements agreed with the spell being wrought, and Elements meant _all_ of the Elements! All of those annoying, order-loving little fillies had to _want_ him sealed. If one of them, just one, strayed from that commitment, particularly if that one happened to be the most _powerful_, the central Element of Magic... well, he'd be lounging about in cotton candy clouds in no time at all! He could practically _taste_ the chocolate milk as he thought about it, and that had sent him into another paroxysm of giggles.

He'd only quieted when Twilight launched into another tiresome tirade. Honestly, that got so _boring _after a while and... _focus_. Oh, he'd used that little offer to worm his way into her doubts and curiosity until, try as she might to hide it behind that admittedly well-crafted wall, he was _sure_ he had her. It had all been formalities after that, silly banter back and forth that, while nourishing for him, had only meant that yes, oh yes, he _had _her. Perhaps he hadn't handled her so well in the last minute, but who could blame him, with that elation marring all else? And besides, what did it matter? He could _feel_ the certainty of it, and even though she'd drawn away and put up the shield of all-powerful heroism, he hadn't been worried. He knew her too well, knew her kind, and he knew that no matter her resolution at that second, there was _no_ solution to what he _knew_ was gnawing away at her beloved mentor. No: she'd be back. She'd be back to sniff and paw at the clever bait he'd set, and so he'd laughed and laughed as she screamed virtue at him, happily dissolved into hysterics when she'd pulled her consciousness away from his. Fine. Perfectly fine. Run, little Twilight. Run, run, _run, run run to your heart's content my dear and come back when Her Majesty goes nuts come back I know you will and then..._

Then he'd have to bear down. Then... then it would be... well, it would be _fun_, sure, but because of the angle, because of his approach... it might hurt. Even now, he could sense his weapons, those bothersome little realities, drawing their claws down his psyche, poking their nasty truths and memories _where he didn't want them_. Discord pushed them away, locked them up as best he could without taxing himself too much, but it was only temporary. Ah, that was the price, of course. The weapons he had in this state were not particularly easy to use. That was the price that, ironically enough, was not Twilight's but _his_ to pay. Unfortunate, yes. Regrettable, yes. Necessary? If this was to be his method, then yes: those were the memories he had to call up, had to use as tools to sculpt her mind into the form he needed for his escape. The real question was not "did he have to?" but "could he?" Could he manage it, wield those finicky, volatile weapons without feeling their bite himself? Hmm... he fought urge to rub at his beard.

Yes, no, maybe so. Ha! Wasn't that just the quaintest, yet truest, answer?

The truth, much as he hated to acknowledge it, was that this could hurt. This could hurt _hurt hurt_, and there was little to do about it other than take it as it came. After all, what choice did he have, frozen in this rock? Deaf and blind and dumb and _whoa there stay back stay back not yet_ chained as he unfortunately was? This the price he'd be sure to make them _all_ pay back once all was said and done, but for now, he was the payer, and fate was the payee. Ha! He, the embodiment of chaos, forced to endure such potentially dire straits. Oh, that _was_ funny, _hilarious _even, and despite its darker meaning, Discord began to laugh at the tangled predicament he'd found himself in.

He laughed and laughed, and when that laughter began to slide down into the gaping maw of a throe, why, he didn't bother to stop it. He let that throe rise up, and he let himself laugh until exhaustion rendered his mind still, for in the end, he'd done what he'd set out to do: he'd positioned what few pieces he possessed on his fractured chess board. The game was set; all he had to do was wait.

* * *

><p>Twilight was crying by the time she reached the library, tears streaming freely down her face as she quietly opened and shut the door, mindful of the sleeping Spike. Inside, she leaned against the nearest wall, silently sliding down to crouch, trembling, on the floor as the tears continued to drip from her muzzle.<p>

It was the shock, really, and who could blame her for that? It was not every evening that one conversed with the spirit of chaos all by oneself, and it was certainly not something she'd prepared for in any way. The moment she'd left the field, all of her empowering anger had vanished, leaving only a chilled sense of shock that beckoned halted sobs from between her lips. Unpleasant, but completely understandable, and she'd let that feeling hold onto her during her entire run home. Shock was all it was, and as it worked its way through her system, as she finally came to terms with what she had just done for the past half hour or so, the tears slowed their trickle. When they stopped, she took a shaking breath and rose. Crossing the room to her desk, she automatically called the tools of letter-writing to its surface.

She'd allowed herself that little breakdown, but now it was time to get to work. All said and done, she had to inform the princess of what had just happened. Residual shame, born of her near-acceptance of whatever sordid plan Discord had thought up, compelled her to do it _now, _and so she quickly scribbled out a header and began the first paragraph. Twilight wrote and wrote, detailing her visions, recounting her first encounter with the statue, explaining the current night's events... only to crumple up the parchment in a burst of magic a few minutes later. Shaking her head, she blamed the faulty letter on remaining unease and started again. Ten minutes later, the result was the same, and twenty minutes later, she had a third ball of parchment to add to her collection.

Tears pricked at her eyes again, and she bit her lip to keep them at bay. No, she _had_ to do this. She'd given herself time to recover, and now she had to pull together and call for reinforcements before... before what? Before he escaped? Before he contacted her again? Before he continued to wreak his evil upon the princess? She didn't know, and perhaps that was what made writing the letter so difficult. She didn't truly know _what_ to tell the princess, particularly considering the condition the latter was currently in. Should she even mention that? Should she own to her doubts, misgivings, and concerns? Or should she brush those aside, focusing instead purely on Discord's apparent reawakening? For all her intelligence, Twilight simply could not decide how to proceed, and so she sat down again, laying her head on her trembling hooves as she tried to sort her thoughts out. Again, she called upon her logic for guidance.

She listed what she knew, what she'd experienced, but that still didn't tell her what to tell the princess. The obvious answer to that question was "everything," but... oh, but there was still something _wrong!_ Worse, talking to Discord only reaffirmed that idea, and that... wait. Did it really? Did it confirm her fears, or was that a trick, too? Was he just... or was it... or... Twilight groaned and buried her face in her hooves. This was the problem! She had _no idea_ what was true, what was a trick, what was a cleverly-disguised lie. How could she, considering whom she'd spoken with? How was she to write the princess a letter about such grave matters when she had no clear idea of what the danger was? Discord was awake, yes, but nothing had ever said that he had to be asleep, either. After all, he was still safely locked away in that statue, that she was certain of. Her probing of the magical fields in that meadow confirmed it, so what was the real issue, then? Was there truly danger here, or... or was the real danger in whatever was wrong with Princess Celestia? Could she risk the princess' feelings and opinion of her by pointing out those concerns? Before, she'd decided she could not. Now... oh, now she didn't know what to do! She sighed, a tiny spark of her previous anger returning. Trust that brute to complicate matters further. Why, he'd probably leap for joy if he knew the miserable position he'd put her in now.

Well, grousing about it wouldn't help matters. She needed a plan of her own. She needed action. She needed- Her encouraging thoughts were interrupted by a loud draconic snore from the loft. Twilight found herself giggling despite her dilemma, only to fall silent when the significance of that snore finally occurred to her. What was the point in writing out a letter whose content she couldn't properly decide upon when her assistant was asleep? Why bother waking Spike up now? Twilight sighed, finally deciding on one thing, at least: there was no sense in ruining her friend's sleep like that, not when she was so unsure. Perhaps... perhaps sleep would be best? She cocked her head to the side, trying to reason out her next course of action. Sleep would rejuvenate her admittedly tired mind. Sleep would refresh, maybe give her a new perspective in the morning. Sleep... she shivered. Sleep might bring another disturbing vision with it. Well, that could have its use, too, she supposed, in swaying her one way or the other.

Yes, sleep seemed to be the safest option at this point. No sense in approaching this huge undertaking in such an exhausted state, and tomorrow... her eyes widened. Why, tomorrow, _everyone_ would be up! Everyone, meaning her friends, meaning the Elements, meaning ponies whose advice she could get. Yes, that was even better! Sleep now, confer with friends tomorrow. That was better than going to the princess right away. It would give her an even fresher perspective, maybe even reveal a solution all on its own. Perhaps the six of them could figure out a way to deal with Discord without even having to pester Celestia at all.

These new ideas crowding out her more dismal thoughts, Twilight felt immensely calmer, even smiling as she climbed up the stairs to bed. Everything felt better taken slowly, felt more _right_, and she briefly considered the idea that Discord's last needling comments had actually been _designed_ to spur her to reckless action. She hadn't even thought of that possibility before, but now she giggled softly at the notion. Well, if that had been part of his plan, it had failed. She would wait, would take a second look at everything in the morning. She'd call her friends. She'd put it right.

Getting into bed, Twilight felt the last traces of fear slip away as she closed her eyes. A feeling of almost intense well-being assured her that this was the right choice, and she sighed as she fell into a dreamless, restful sleep.

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you for reading. Comment if it please you.


	5. 4: In Which Twilight Makes Her Decision

A/N: No, I have no idea how it got this long. Apologies all around.

Disclaimer: I own nothing pony.

* * *

><p>Chapter Four: In Which Twilight Makes Her Decision<p>

The moment the sun ceased to be enough was the nearest to real panic she'd ever come. For what felt like eternity she reached out, pleaded, _begged _for even the faintest breath of relief, but it was to no avail. The great burning orb whose light had anchored her for so long had only so much to give, and her agony had grown beyond the reach of its golden rays. Their perfect order had little effect now; it was as if her mind had developed an insidious resistance to that particular balm, and for a horrific moment, the memories swelled beyond the fragile borders she'd established.

Still, Celestia persevered. If there was anything she'd gained during her long life, it was an amazing reservoir of endurance. Patience, stamina, and discipline had formed a dam that she'd relied on countless times before, and as sunlight failed to hold back the growing tumult, she relied on it again. She pushed back at the hurt with that dam, reinforcing it with willpower and pure desperation. It held, too, held well enough that, for a few days, she dared to allow hope to grow anew. There seemed another chance that all would stay together until the pain descended back from whence it came.

She spent those days in a trance only she recognized, relying on an impeccably trained mind to handle the outer world while she nurtured the protective shield within. The daily rituals of palace life furthered the illusion of tranquility, and she drew what strength she could from what most would have considered dreary monotony. For a foolish moment she'd actually believed that her last meager efforts would succeed, daring to allow just a shade of relief into her thoughts.

It was not to be. A deeper part of her knew it, but her conscious mind finally admitted defeat only when the pain suddenly soared, nearly pulling a moan from her tense throat. She managed, though. Inner strength grappled with pain as she finished watching Luna raise her namesake, and only when she'd exchanged evening pleasantries with her younger sister did Celestia retire to her room. Once there, the façade crumbled. She sank to her knees, unable to keep upright as she gathered all of her strength to push back against the veritable wave of unwanted knowledge bearing down on her.

She trembled with that immense effort, her breath coming in the short pants of a suffering animal. It felt like hours before she could rise again, but the moon's position revealed it to have been only a few minutes. When she finally stood, legs still quivering minutely, all prior hope was gone, replaced with a chill resolve. Celestia closed her eyes as she stepped out onto the balcony; she did not open them for a long time. When she did, the look in them was blurred by a sheen of tears, but flint-hard all the same.

The way forward was clear now. She'd had to reach down, past the crowd of memories and pain, deep down into the abyss of her mind to call upon the only power she knew of that could make this stop. It had hurt; not physically, but it had hurt all the same, for as she reconnected with notions and ideals long-buried, she recognized a danger inseparable from what she was going to do. It was not a danger to herself; rather, the danger was towards her precious little ponies, and it was for that reason that Celestia had to survey her sleeping kingdom through a veil of tears.

She'd done it before. Once. Only once, eons back when all of this had first started. Eons ago, she'd looked out over her kingdom just like this, felt the same nauseating agony, battled the same wrenching memories, and in the end, in order to save herself and, by extension, her kind, she'd made her decision. That decision had extended her power across her entire world, caging all within its place in her divine order, locking it, ensuring that when she looked upon it, it would quench the ever-burning fire deep within. Even now, thinking about what she had done so long ago, she felt her pangs lessen just a touch. With that relief, however, came its permanent partner: withering regret.

What had been done... what was still _being _done... for a moment, she let the consequences wash over her. The resulting guilt was the most personal punishment she knew, and she immersed herself in it as tears dripped soundlessly from her muzzle. That was only right, after all. She'd sought punishment for the last offense, and now she welcomed it for this one. The consequences for her people would be dire enough, after all.

Dire, yes... but necessary. The tears stopped as she acknowledged this reality. Yes, they would be necessary; Celestia would hardly even consider her current plan if urgent necessity was not a factor. The harsh reality of the situation made it so. Her tears quickly dried as she accepted this, and before long her posture abandoned its depressed droopiness.

Of course it was necessary. What other options did she have, with that tempest brewing deep within? She only had so much strength, after all, and if she did not mollify what she could no longer hold back... No, there was nothing to gain from thinking about such a terrible possibility. She could not allow _that _to happen; never, never, never-

_But wouldn't it be wonderful? Wonderful, to simply let go, to allow that ever-present urge to swallow everything, to give in, to embrace the core of-_

No! Celestia shook her head, banishing those dangerous temptations. They would be the true undoing of everything she'd worked so hard to preserve, and for the sake of her people, she could not allow that. She could never give in to that persuasion, not even as a last resort. The way forward had to be more subtle, more gentle. Yes, it would still... still result in unsavory limitations, but it was preferable to the alternative. Anything was preferable to that horrible, terrifying, _wondrous _alternative... She shook herself again, crossing to her desk in a final act of resolve. Action was the answer now; Celestia knew what had to be done, and all that was left was to do it quickly, before temptation and pain drove her to those darker means. It would save her, in the end. It would save her from this mounting pain, and in saving her, it would save her ponies.

With that goal firmly guiding her, she levitated a quill and a length of scroll and began her work. She wrote and wrote, pausing now and again to look at a large map of Equestria for confirmation in her decrees. She wrote to Appleloosa, to Manehatten, to Cloudsdale. She wrote to Fillydelphia and Trottingham. She wrote to so many others, and finally, she wrote to Ponyville.

When she'd finished, she gathered up the parchment and began the journey to one of the castle's many offices, each of which housed a magic fire specifically made to send mail all across Equestria. Any other time, she would have done the task herself, but there were so many rolls, and between the late night and the ever-present turmoil, Celestia was nearly exhausted. Thus she carried the scrolls down the hallway, hooves clicking gently against the pristine marble floor. It was the only sound to grace the halls, for she was quite alone in the flickering light of the torches. The castle staff were still asleep, a couple of hours away from waking up to start on their daily chores.

Her solitude comforted her. Company was the last thing she needed now. The effort to keep walking forward in her exhaustion was tremendous enough; adding to that the effort of maintaining her front would have been too much. As it was, she walked slowly, head drooping and eyes sliding half shut. That was fine. Perfectly fine. In a few minutes, she would send her new instructions, and then she would raise her beautiful sun. Then... then some excuse would allow her sleep, and when she woke up, everything would be perfect again. More perfect, even. When she woke up, her ponies would have enforced all that she'd written, and everything would be _better_ than perfect. She'd go to her balcony and gaze upon such splendid new order that the pain, the memories, the evil temptations would all fall back to nothing where they belonged, and all would be well.

She would be saved. They would be saved. The world, her beloved Equestria, would be saved.

Celestia smiled at the faint warmth her thoughts provided. Yes, all would be fine. All she had to do was open this door, throw these scrolls into the emerald fire dancing in the hearth, and-

"Sister!"

_No. No, no, Luna, not now. Please, by the sun and the moon, not now. Leave. Please, please leave. Please, dearest heart, leave now before..._

Luna did not leave. Her hoofsteps grew louder and louder until she was beside her sister. Celestia could feel her gaze, knew precisely what she was thinking, for though she'd straightened up the moment she'd heard Luna, there was no way the latter could have missed the sight of her weakened state. It was only a matter of time before...

"Celestia! Thou hast risen already? There are two hours yet until the sun must rise, and tho- you look terrible! Did you sleep at all?"

Her sister's exclamations should have been funny. Her speech corrections should have brought a smile to Celestia's face. Her concern should have been touching. Instead, all she could hear were the minute imperfections in each syllable, the changes in tone, the natural variations in volume and lilt. All she could hear were the _inconsistencies_, the vile inconsistencies that demanded repair, fixing, erasing. They had to be destroyed. Ugly, disgusting, abhorrent things, they had to be destroyed, and then everything would be all right. Then she could fix the coat, make sure that shifting shimmer was dealt with. She could ensure that each hoof was exactly trimmed. She could make it all one color, one single color, and then-

Sun and moon above, _no_.

She wanted to whimper, so monumental was the effort to pull away, but Luna was watching closely, worry obvious in her eyes. Celestia did the one thing she could do.

Celestia smiled. Powerful, enduring, _desperate _mare that she was, she smiled gently at her sister and shook her head with a grace miraculous in how it cloaked what trembled within.

"I'm afraid I did not have the chance. All of the recent councils and meetings have put me terribly behind schedule, and I simply had to write up these new laws. The Summer Sun Celebration is only a few months away, and it would be unfair to expect ponies to adjust to legal changes while also preparing for the festival. It was best that I finished as soon as possible, to give everypony enough time."

The pair reached the office just as she finished her false explanation, and she slipped into the room without waiting for a dissenting opinion. She was almost there; if she could just reach the fire...

"I... I suppose that does make sense. I will admit that I am not yet accustomed to current governmental proceedings. And I do wish thou wouldst not task thyself... ahem... yourself so heavily."

She laughed, and while it sounded strained and faltering to her own ears, it seemed to satisfy Luna, for her sister returned her smile. The fragile seedling that was hope dared peek out amongst her stony thoughts of despair. She was almost at the hearth; just a few more steps, and she could rest. Just a few more steps, and she could reap the rewards of relief and peace tomorrow. Just a few more...

"Would it be possible for me to read them, Celly? Before you send them? I have been studying modern regulations quite extensively, and I should like to put it to use. If time permits, of course. I understand if you are fatigued."

"Of course, Luna. I should send them within the hour, but-"

"Ah, then I will read them with haste!"

She did; it only took her ten minutes or so to read through the pile of parchment. Celestia spent those ten minutes discreetly training her eyes onto the blank white wall beyond the desk. The clean, uniform, comforting wall. It was all she could think of to save herself at that point, and her concentration was such that she barely heard her sister speak again. She started slightly at her voice, covering it with a shuffle of her hooves.

"I... I am afraid I have yet to fully comprehend these modern policies." Luna's regal face took on a grimace of confusion as she turned away from the scrolls. "They seem..."

"Restrictive, yes?"

"I did not-"

Her throat felt raw and hot, but the laugh that came from it was as sweet as ever.

"I assure you, Luna, they will make sense once they have been properly enforced. Though, if you like, I'll explain their mechanics once..." she yawned softly, "...once I've slept. You were right; I am quite tired. Would you terribly mind presiding over Court for me today?"

Luna shook her head, and Celestia nodded her thanks. She began to move the scrolls into the fire; after watching for a moment, Luna joined her. Together, they levitated the scrolls into the emerald flames; Celestia's heart pounded as they licked at the parchment, incinerating it into transit.

Done. It was done, and no one would be the wiser. Oh, she'd have to concoct some logic for Luna later, but that would be a monumental simplicity once she'd slept. By the time she'd have to do that, it would all be fixed, and a few minutes of serene observation would silence the din in her head. It would all be gloriously easy after that.

Perfect. Magnificent. By the grace of the sun, she was saved. They were all saved. They _had _to be saved. By all the love in her heart, please let it be so...

"Goodness; it nears dawn already. I am sorry to have kept you. Please; I can raise the sun today, if you wish..."

"Oh, that's quite all right. I can still manage that." Another smile, pulled from oblivion. "If you'll excuse me, I do believe I shall go manage it now, if you would please lower your lovely moon."

"Ah, yes, yes. I shall. Good... ah... morning, sister."

"I will see you later, Luna."

With those serene words, the sisters parted to do their sacred work, and a few minutes later, the day began.

* * *

><p>Dawn's first light came at exactly seven in the morning, the sun's golden rays reaching over the Equestrian horizon to coax ponies from their beds. Twilight Sparkle fought that natural alarm, turning away from the light shining through her window and unconsciously pulling her blanket over her head. Spike watched this with his claws on his mouth, suppressing a giggle at seeing his "older sister" do such a childishly cute thing. It was rather unlike her; normally, she was awake <em>before <em>the first rays of light touched her eyelids, not hiding from them after the fact.

He indulged in a few more stifled giggles before composing himself and reaching out to wake her. His claw was nearly at her shoulder when he stopped, suddenly struck by recent memories of her difficult nights and stressful days. It had been some time since he'd seen Twilight sleep so soundly, and as he watched her, his intent to wake her faded. She needed the sleep, after all, and what benefit was there to waking her from the first good slumber she'd had in days? He made up his mind with a contented sigh, finally deciding to let her lie. With a fond glance at her curled up form, he tiptoed to the staircase and made his way down from the loft to start on breakfast.

The sun had climbed high above the horizon when Twilight finally awoke. It took her a few moments to realize the fact, so deep was the sleep she had to pull herself from, but the realization came with a customary yelp.

"Oh my gosh, I overslept! Princess Celestia; Discord; my _letter_! Oh, no, no, no... Spike! Spike, where are you!"

The panic set in with alarming speed, and she nearly fell out of her bed as she yelled for her dragon, righting herself haphazardly and racing down the loft ladder. A thousand reprimands flitted amongst her frazzled thoughts as she reached the library's main room. How could she oversleep when she had such important matters to attend to? How could she, when she'd already delayed by not acting last night? And where...

"Spike?"

In her distress, the bizarre notion that Discord, somehow freed by her inaction, had kidnapped her little assistant flared with terrifying brilliance in her mind, and she let out a whimper as she... slipped on a stray sheet of paper.

"Agh!"

The fall was enough to break her disastrous train of thought, and she moaned from her position on the floor as the paper settled innocently down right in front of her muzzle. She immediately noticed the familiar penmanship on it, and her automatic reaction was to read it.

_Dear Twilight,_

_I know you haven't been getting much sleep lately, so I decided to let you sleep in. Please don't be mad! It's just that I've been a little worried... okay, a_

lot_ worried about how stressed you've been, what with the whole princess thing, so I thought you could use a few more hours._

_Breakfast is on the table. I've gone out to do some shopping. I should be back around lunchtime._

_Love,_

_Spike_

_PS: Please please_ please_ don't be mad! I promise to work extra hard to make up for any lost study time!_

By the time she reached the end of the letter, just about all of her anxiety had dissipated. She read through it again, a gentle smile softening her face as she allowed the affection she felt to settle warmly within.

"Oh, Spike..." she sighed, folding up the parchment and placing it on the table, right next to the prettily arranged hay and eggs she'd missed in her mid-morning flailings. The sight of the perfectly prepared breakfast was the final nail in the coffin of her little panic attack, and she sat down at the table with a heavy breath of relief. Melodious bird song floated in through an open window, another herald of spring, and Twilight allowed herself to spend a few minutes listening to what her studious mind identified as the territorial call of the meadowlark. It helped ground her even more, for it was just another sign that Discord was indeed still imprisoned; normal bird song would hardly be the audio of choice if the draconequus was gallivanting across Ponyville again.

Slowly, the eggs and hay disappeared from the plate, washed down with a cool glass of milk. A part of her kept trying to break the new calm, insisting that she was being foalish by taking her day so slowly, but Twilight quelled it swiftly. The lovely day outside her window lay testament to Discord's continued imprisonment, and she had had her fill of rushing into things. What had happened the last time she hadn't thought matters through? Well... the Smartypants incident, actually, and she still flinched at that memory, but before that? She'd led her friends into that treacherous labyrinth for no good reason! A travesty, it had been, all because Discord had counted on her failing to work things out slowly, instead allowing future peril to prod her to reckless action that ultimately made the situation worse.

Not this time. This time, she would think things through. There would be no mistakes, not regarding Discord, and _especially_ not regarding the princess. These matters were far too important to complicate with her own emotional turmoil. _Logic _had to prevail, and she, Twilight Sparkle, would ensure that it did so. Rationality would rule her mind, and she would gather her fellow Elements of Harmony, properly explain recent happenings, and together, they would form an unstoppable force that would defeat Discord once and for all.

These affirmations ignited a spark of righteous confidence in Twilight's heart, and, breakfast finished, she approached the door with head held high and chest impressively puffed out: the picture of a mare ready to take on the world.

"That's right! No more indecision. No more confusion! I am going to find the girls, tell them Discord's back, and we are going to-"

She was cut off by what could only be adequately described as a surprise door to the face. Suddenly crushed between her front door and the wall, she could barely hear voices calling her name.

"Twilight! Twilight, you in here?" Rapid wing beats quickly identified one of the invaders as Rainbow Dash.

"Twi! Consarn it, where is that girl? Twilight!" The southern drawl meant Applejack.

The sound of hoofsteps told her that Rainbow Dash and Applejack had left the doorway to mill about the library's foyer. She tried to answer their calls, only to find that talking with one's muzzle crushed between a wall and a door was not particularly effective. With a moan, she pulled herself free, spinning around dizzily as the door swung shut behind her. In the few seconds it took for her vision to show more than a messy blue-orange blur, her two friends were upon her.

"Twilight, there you are! We've been lookin' everywhere for you!"

"What are you still _doing _here? The meeting's about to start!"

With both Applejack and Rainbow Dash leaning in, she barely had any room to breathe. With a strangled yelp, Twilight tried to back away from her agitated friends, only to end up on her rump as grace failed her. She looked up at the two mares with undisguised confusion.

"What in the world are you two talking about? I just got up a little while ago," she managed as the room finally stopped spinning. "Spike let me sleep in, and I've just finished breakfast. I was about to go find you, actually. There's something I have to tell all of-"

"Never _mind _that now, sugarcube!" Applejack interrupted. "There's a huge meeting being held in the town square. We've gotta go, pronto!"

"Yeah! Come on; the whole town's already gathered, and everypony's gonna start without us." Rainbow Dash fluttered around to her backside, grabbing her tail between her teeth and hauling the bemused Twilight Sparkle to her hooves. Both mares wasted no time in shoving her out the door, ignoring Twilight's stammered protests as she tried to get some shred of information out of them.

"There ain't no time to explain, Twi. We have to get to the town square now; Mayor Mare seemed really worked up about whatever she had to tell us. Come on now!"

Applejack broke into a hasty trot, and Twilight, still reeling from her run-in with wood and stone, admitted temporary defeat as she struggled to keep up. Rainbow Dash, after throwing the two grounded ponies a backwards glance, had already flown ahead. Twilight could just make out her raspy voice encouraging them to "move those hooves." Applejack swiftly obliged, breaking into an easy canter.

With a final effort, Twilight matched her pace to Applejack's, and the two mares cantered side by side down Ponyville's cobbled streets. With her legs obeying her at last, Twilight was able to glance around. The sight of deserted streets and abandoned shops was a stark contrast to the promise of a lovely spring day the morning's meadowlark had given, and she felt a queasy unease settle in her gut. Gone was the confidence of just a few minutes ago, and Twilight's hope for her plan quickly followed when she spied the huge crowd of ponies coming into view ahead of them. She swallowed nervously.

It really was the whole town. Between the empty streets they'd passed and the deafening chatter of over a hundred ponies milling anxiously about, there was no doubt in her mind that everypony who could be there _was_ there. The realization did far more to deepen Twilight's anxiety than her friends' breakneck pace had, for when were Applejack and Rainbow Dash _not _rushing off to some job or event? Clearly this was not some silly overreaction on their part; there was something very much amiss, and as Twilight followed Applejack through the crowd, her mind sank back into the turbid black waters of doubt and worry.

She'd made a terrible mistake, and here was the proof. Like a stupid, naïve filly, she'd underestimated the enemy _again_, and now some awful emergency had befallen her home. Stupid, stupid, stupid! Her legs began to tremble with the weight of growing guilt, and for a moment she lost sight of Applejack as her steps faltered. Her fault. Her fault again, because it had been her fault last time, too. Oh, yes: Twilight Sparkle, the brilliant protégé whose inability to separate logic and blind desperation had nearly doomed Equestria to checkered grass and dancing buffalo. _Brilliant_, and now it was happening again. Any second now, Discord was going to swoop down on all of her friends and neighbors, all because she'd been unable to make a decision that should have been simple. What did it matter that every little detail hadn't been in place? She should have seen the big picture, the _important_ picture, instead of needing every worthless bit of information at her hooves. One would think that a mare who prided herself on being a good student would have actually _learned _that lesson! Foalish again, and now...

Twilight was swiftly nearing the threshold of another spectacular breakdown when Pinkie Pie's voice pierced her self-blame. Ears pricking up instinctively, she glanced around for the source and found her entire group of friends standing near the front of the crowd. All five faces were trained on her as Pinkie called again, adding an energetic bounce-and-wave for good measure.

"Twilight! Hellooo! Over here! We're over here!"

While there were multiple things Pinkie's bubbly voice was good for, today's example happened to be knocking some much-needed sense into Twilight's head. The sound of it pulled her back into the present, and when she'd shaken off much of her negativity, she looked around again.

Fact: there was a large crowd of ponies waiting for a very important announcement. Fact: this announcement was likely not very positive, considering the nervous energy permeating the air. Fact: there was probably adequate cause to be fairly concerned. Twilight acknowledged all of these things, but as she took in the scene, she could not acknowledge the dread idea that Discord was the cause. The sky was still blue, the clouds still a submissive cotton-white. Birds flit about right side up, and all buildings remained firmly anchored to their foundations. The eyesore of checkered grass was nowhere to offend. Twilight chewed her lip as she reconfirmed all of these observations, breathing a cautious sigh of relief when none came up disputed. No, everything was still in its proper place.

Unless Discord had suddenly grown a whole new brain dedicated exclusively to moderation and subtlety, whatever the source of this commotion, it was not his doing. Her second sigh of relief came much more freely.

"Twilight! Come on; Mayor Mare's about to start!"

A few more steps closed the distance. Twilight stopped amidst her five closest friends, looking from one drawn face to the next. All looked apprehensive, though perhaps Pinkie categorized as more curious than anything else. Fluttershy was easily the most distressed, evidence of the fact plain in the weak quiver in her flanks, and she spoke in a voice even softer than usual.

"We're so glad you're here, Twilight. We were hoping that maybe... well, that maybe you'd know more about what was going on."

What in Equestria could that mean? Twilight ignored a much more uncomfortable brand of confusion that statement brought and shook her head.

"I'm afraid not, Fluttershy. Rainbow and Applejack caught me right at the end of breakfast. I slept late, so I didn't even know there was a meeting until they came and got me. What is all of this about?"

"You mean you really don't know?" Rarity's faint accent made her words sound more incredulous than she likely meant them to be. "Why, everyone's been in an absolute uproar since the bugle sounded at sunrise! I don't think anyone but Mayor Mare truly knows what this meeting is about, but the rumors..." Her voice trailed off, and Twilight's ears swiveled forward earnestly. They caught nothing; whatever the last bit of information was, Rarity found it too disturbing to voice. Twilight found it increasingly difficult to hide her unease at the sight of her fellow unicorn's fidgeting.

Applejack, ever the indomitable pony, spoke up quickly. "The rumors," she continued, "are why we were so set on findin' you in the first place, sugarcube. There's talk that... that this here meeting's got something to do with Princess Celestia herself."

"I... w-with the princess?"

The princess... her princess, her mentor... the one who'd already been acting so _strangely_... Twilight Sparkle struggled to maintain some semblance of calm, but as Applejack's words settled, it became increasingly difficult. The steady confidence she'd felt this morning had been slowly chipping away the moment her friends had come banging on her door, and this new information took off a sizable chunk of what remained. Too many uncomfortable thoughts began to gather like so many ominous storm clouds: thoughts of blame, guilt, and frigid dread. She tried to push them aside, tried to keep her breath and pulse from quickening. Objectivity and intelligence were needed for such an emergency as this, not mounting panic; she knew this inherently. For the most part, she succeeded, but she could feel the blood drain from her face all the same.

Her friends immediately noticed her sudden pallor, and while Pinkie appointed herself to the task of nuzzling, Rarity quickly tried to undo the damage a now-sheepish Applejack had unwittingly wrought.

"Darling, please! It is just a rumor. A _rumor_! Here, sit down; you look like you're going to faint. Give her some room, girls, come now. I'm sure the princess is perfectly fine, and this is just a... a..."

"Maybe they're going to announce a party! Maybe it's the princess' birthday, and everyone's invited to a big surprise party, and every city and teeny little town is being told separately so that we don't all ruin the surprise!" Pinkie had switched from nuzzling to bouncing, and it was the impact of her hoof against Twilight's rump that brought her out of her increasingly dark reverie. She looked back at her friends with the despondent air of a lost foal, ready and desperate to cling to any hint of rescue.

"You... you think it's just a party?"

"Sure! I bet-"

"Pinkie Pie, there's no way the mayor called an emergency meeting for a _party_."

"She could have!"

"Uh... no."

"Could so!"

"Nuh-uh!"

"Yeah-hu-"

"A-_hem!_" A stern look from Applejack quickly ended the budding argument. Pinkie settled on her haunches with a pout, and Rainbow looked properly, if reluctantly, chagrined. Situation diffused, she turned back to Twilight with the same reassuring smile she'd offered Fluttershy at the dragon's lair. "Whatever it is, I doubt it's worth gettin' your mane in a tangle over. I'm sure if there was anything wrong with the princess, you'd know about it. So quit your frettin', and let's all wait 'n hear what the mayor has to say. All right?"

Ever honest, Applejack did nothing to hide the concern that fueled her reassurances, and her earnest smile inspired a stab of guilt; Twilight was suddenly aware of how negatively her behavior was affecting her friends, all of whom already had their own trepidations about the meeting. The wave of new guilt overtook the old, and Twilight willed herself to smile back.

"You... you're right, Applejack." A lie, blatant in its smoothness. She knew, _knew_, that there was something the princess was keeping from her, and it gnawed at her resolve with unrelenting ferocity. Still, she shared her smile with the rest of the circle, and they visibly relaxed. "You're _all_ right. There's no sense in panicking when we don't know anything yet."

"Precisely," Rarity emphasized the word with a delicate stomp of a hoof, "so let's all accept whatever news is to be had with calm dignity."

"No problem there!"

"I... I guess that does sound better than panicking."

The faint tremor still marring Fluttershy's voice was the final push Twilight needed, and she mustered up a brave grin for her sake.

"That's right. I'm sure I was overreacting. I'm sure _everyone_," she indicated the surrounding crowd with the sweep of a hoof, "is overreacting, and everything will be perfectly clear in a few minutes!"

She wished she had the peace of mind to be impressed with her own performance, for the juxtaposition of her true feelings and the charade she'd just created was something of a marvel. Inside, guilt, fear, and a myriad nameless emotions twisted and churned to the point of nausea. Outside, she stood calm and ready, mask firmly in place to placate the fears of those around her. Both sides, however, stood at complete attention, for while she could not say she felt any sort of confidence regarding what was in store, she certainly wanted to hear it. From the growing noise of shuffling and mumbling, it was clear the rest of the town held the same sentiment.

Their wait came to an abrupt end when Mayor Mare, looking like she was attempting to accomplish Twilight's illusion but managing it rather poorly, stepped up to the podium. Immediately, the buzz of the crowd rose to a din that she struggled to speak over.

"Good morning, every- Everypony, please! Calm down. I cannot... fillies and gentlecolts, if you would-"

"_Quiet!_" The shrill command brought instant obedience, and even the mayor joined the stunned silence for a few seconds before shakily thanking a beaming Pinkie Pie. "No problemo!" Pinkie replied with a happy salute and settled back down between a speechless Rainbow Dash and Twilight.

Composing herself, Mayor Mare cleared her throat and began again.

"Good morning everypony. Before we begin, I'd like to allay any fears that some of you may have regarding the sudden calling of this town meeting. I understand that hearing the bugle this morning was worrisome for many of you, and while we do sometimes use the bugle in times of emergency, rest assured that today is _not_ such a time."

A new chorus drowned out her voice, one was of sighs and nervous titters of relief instead of anxious chatter. She allowed it to continue, waiting until everypony had settled into a much more comfortable silence before pressing on.

"I'd like to dispel all rumors of invading timberwolves, ursas, manticores, and dragons-"

"Hey!" Though Twilight could not see him, she heard Spike's indignant voice somewhere behind her.

"Ahem... _adult_ dragons. All rumors regarding droughts, famines, plagues, and devastating meteor strikes are likewise untrue."

More relieved whispers from the crowd. All around her, ponies dropped tense expressions for open curiosity as the promised lack of danger eased their fears. Her friends all looked keenly interested now, even Fluttershy relaxing next to her. Twilight strained to match their newly eager expressions, fervently trying to ignore the fact that the one rumor she was actually concerned about had not been revealed false.

"Finally, rumors involving Princess Celestia are..."

Twilight angled her ears as far forward as she could, willing the mayor's words to come faster.

"...somewhat true."

Gasps of renewed shock sounded all around her, but Twilight kept her lips pressed tightly shut. She could not trust herself to join in her fellow ponies' show of surprise, for she feared that she'd blaze right past "normal confusion" and land in the vicinity of "wild hysteria." Again that chasm of dark despair yawned beneath her thudding heart, and it took renewed will to keep from revealing as much to her friends.

_Somewhat true._ What in all of Equestria did that mean? Did that mean that she was ill, but only a little ill? Did it mean that she'd been hurt, but only slightly? Did it mean that somepony had kidnapped her, but promised a safe return for a king's ransom in bits? A swarm of possibilities, each more terrible than the last, buzzed in her mind as Twilight struggled to control breaths wheezing from a tightening chest.

Thankfully, Mayor Mare continued before she could lose the battle with her fear.

"Very early this morning, an urgent correspondence arrived from Canterlot, directly from the princess herself. The correspondence consisted of a number of scrolls, each of which detailed new laws that the princess requested be immediately enforced in Ponyville."

Fear gave way to honest confusion, and the loss of its driving energy left Twilight drained. She took a few deep breaths to steady herself before indulging in the rush of curiosity the mayor's announcement brought.

There was no doubt that, while apparently not the great catastrophe everypony had been dreading, the news was high irregular. Most laws governing daily life in Equestria were not normally handed down directly from the princess. They came, rather, from the hoof-ful of council-ponies elected by the various towns and cities to serve in Canterlot. Those ponies, while certainly enjoying the gentle _influence _of Princess Celestia in their decision-making, were nevertheless wholly responsible for the laws that bound Equestria's citizens. The only time the government strayed from this more representative process was... Twilight felt the fur running along her spine bristle faintly. It only strayed when the laws were important enough, needed enough, for Princess Celestia to supersede the elected council and pass them herself. It rarely happened nowadays, for there were hardly dangers and emergencies in Equestria so great that they demanded such heavy action... so why did the mayor have so many scrolls spread out over the podium?

Twilight watched as Mayor Mare unrolled even more scrolls, stacking them in a pile that kept growing until she had to peek out from behind it to address her audience. Focusing on her words had become difficult again; the more Twilight considered this unexpected development, the more disturbed she became, even as her friends and neighbors seemed to remain merely bemused.

"I shall now read out the new laws." She cleared her throat, picked up the first scroll, and announced Princess Celestia's first new edict in an appropriately commanding voice.

"It is hereby established by Princess Celestia that all pegasi will strive to maintain cloud cover at an altitude no greater than fifteen hundred feet and no less than fourteen hundred feet."

Next to Twilight, Rainbow Dash stiffened.

"_What?_That's ridiculous! You can't keep all clouds at that altitude, that's-"

The mayor spared her only a withering side glance, opting to drown out her indignant voice with a louder reading of a second law.

"As other varieties have been deemed unfit, all apples grown in Ponyville must be of the Red Delicious variety."

This time the protest came from Applejack. As the next law was read, another pony called out his dissent, then another, and another. The more laws she read, the louder Mayor Mare had to speak in order to be heard over the complaints of her townsponies, until she finally knocked a hoof against the podium for quiet. The crowd reduced their din to unhappy mumblings, and the list continued.

Twilight stopped registering the new laws after the fifth or sixth. Instead, her mind returned inwards, straining and struggling to make some sort of sense of what she was hearing. The problem was that she could not _find_ any. Each law, even after examination by her logic and reasoning, remained inscrutable, its purpose eluding her. She focused on the mayor's words again, identifying the next law with hope for something more understandable.

"Recent river erosion must be repaired as quickly as possible."

_Why?_ It made no sense: that river was not near any croplands. What erosion had occurred was far upstream, not even particularly near the town. It would do no harm; Twilight was sure of that. She'd written a detailed report on the river's status just a month ago. What was the purpose of ordering a large number of earth ponies to ensure that that flow went unaltered? Why prevent such a harmless, natural process? Why, why, _why?_

Twilight groaned as the beginnings of a headache further muddied her thoughts. Around her, everypony's voices rose up again, no longer heeding any command for quiet once the mayor's announcements had petered out. Questions rang out among the crowd, questions echoing Twilight's own skepticism and confusion. She heard Roseluck challenge a new law governing flower shape. Another voice questioned the logic behind new building regulations. Another, and another, and another sounded in protest born only of a complete lack of _reason_for what they'd all just heard. Mayor Mare, for her part, was doing her best to come up with answers for the ponies, but in the end, she had to concede to the fact that she, too, had little to no idea as to what the princess meant by all these new regulations. Her parting words were almost an apology.

"Please, everypony. I realize that this is a great deal to handle all at once, but Princess Celestia has elevated these new laws to the highest level of importance. I ask that everpony please put forth their best effort for the next few days. I'm certain that we will receive more information soon." With that, she returned to the Town Hall, and who could blame her? What else could she have possibly said in such a situation, as ignorant of the cause as her town's citizens? Twilight frowned at the knowledge that they really were being asked to work blindly. Emergency regulations, too. Why emergency? Why would such trivial matters justify blowing the bugle so early in the morning and driving everyone into a panic?

She grit her teeth in frustration, nearly ready to vent via angry snarl when Applejack beat her to it. With a loud snort, the cowpony kicked a pebble in the direction of the podium..

"Well, shoot! That didn't answer nothin', now did it? What in the name of Equestria does the princess mean by sending us all those nitpicky little rules?"

"Beats me!" Rainbow joined in, "But can you believe it? She wants us to keep the clouds at the same level. The _same_ level. Do you have any idea how much work that's gonna be? Do you know how _boring _it's gonna be? Gah!" She sat down in a huff, angry pout firmly in place.

"Yeah! And with all this extra work, we're never going to have any time left to party!" Pinkie Pie shared her friends' unhappiness, if not quite their unease.

"How could she send such things?"

"Bah, this is ridiculous!"

Twilight watched as her friends, similar to most of the ponies remaining in the square, proceeded to rant amongst themselves. A part of her wanted to join them, instinctive rebelling against these strange restrictions, but a greater part was too busy trying to integrate new information with the old. Suddenly, Princess Celestia's odd behavior was no longer something that affected only their relationship. This new development, these draconian new rules and their unorthodox method of delivery, could not have been a coincidence; the whole situation was just too bizarre. It had to somehow connect to the princess' recent aloofness. Twilight just had to figure out _how_, and the desire to do so overruled her anger for the moment. Thus, while her friends argued, and discussed, and commiserated, Twilight desperately tried to connect the few dots she could see.

What could today's meeting have to do with the princess' recent preoccupation? Did it have _anything_ to do with it? The princess had been "off" ever since the Discord incident, and these laws were being sent out quite some time after it. Was there a connection at all? No, but there had to be! It was irregular enough for the princess to act strangely in even just one way, let alone two at once. It could not be a coincidence. Or could it? And then... then there was _Discord_. Was he somehow connected to today's events? To Twilight's prior troubles? She'd been so certain he'd been behind the princess' aberrant behavior, but he'd said otherwise. What did that matter, though? He was a liar, wasn't he?

Regarding today, at least... these laws did not seem like something he'd think up. They seemed quite the _opposite_, and that realization threw what little confidence Twilight had in her reasoning right out the proverbial window. If Discord had interfered with the princess, altered her somehow, then wouldn't she be acting more... well, chaotic? If today and the past weeks were related, and some deep intuition told Twilight that they were, then Discord being the cause was looking less and less likely.

Twilight growled, aggravated; instead of giving her a clearer picture, the meeting and its conclusion had dragged her back to square one. What a load of-

"You're right! Of course, that must be it."

"Eh?" Twilight looked up, pulled from her reverie by an exclamation so bright and cheerful, it felt out of place in the troubled atmosphere, or... it would have, if the atmosphere had still been troubled.

Twilight stood frozen in bafflement, eyes wide and mouth comically slack at the sight of what had occurred in the time she'd devoted to failed reasoning. All around her, ponies that had, just minutes before, been beside themselves with distress, ire, and worry were smiling and laughing. She watched as groups and singles trotted away from the square, chatting amiably and behaving as if they'd somehow forgotten about the incomprehensible events that had _just_ happened. Her eyes darted to this pony, then to that one, then to another, frantic to find some trace of what had just been, but there simply _was _none. Instead, an air of contentment reigned supreme. Above her, a pair of pegasi were even beginning their new work, bucking some clouds suddenly deemed "low-flying" out of the sky.

The compounded shock and stress were almost too much for the poor filly, and she was quite tempted to perform a Rarity-esque swoon; really, her head was spinning and heart pounding so badly, it hardly would have been much of a _performance _at all.

Once again, her friends' chatter pulled her back to reality.

"I'll see you girls later; I have to go tell all of the animals about this."

Twilight looked up to see Fluttershy taking off, and the total serenity embodied in her stance, a _complete_ shift from the trembling creature present only moments before, finally broke her self-control. The result was a very shrill, very loud, very un-Twilight-like screech.

"What is _wrong_ with all of you?"

Silence, save for the thud of a startled Fluttershy landing in a heap on the cobblestones. Everyone, even some ponies a good ways off from their little gathering, was gaping at her as her sides heaved with the effort of staving off another outburst. Rarity glanced at Pinkie; Applejack did little more than blink. Rainbow Dash busied herself with helping Fluttershy to her hooves.

"I... you..." she ventured, but words failed her as her mind struggled to come up with some rationale for what she was seeing. The fact that they were all staring at her as if _she _had just lost her mind made it that much more difficult.

"What do you mean, what's wrong with us? What's wrong with _you_?" was Rainbow Dash's angry response. Having helped Fluttershy up, she flared her wings out at Twilight in growing anger. "What's the big idea, yelling like that?"

Confusion may have dulled Twilight's sensibilities, but not to the point that she could not recognize Rainbow preparing for a verbal showdown. She wisely reigned herself in, once again willing calm.

"I didn't... I mean, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to yell, it's just that..."

"Just what, sugarcube?" Applejack kept her voice carefully even, soothing both pegasus and unicorn as she stepped up to them.

"Just... aren't you mad anymore?" She tried and failed to keep incredulity out of her voice, and it made her sound petulant. Fortunately, Applejack had the infinite pony sense to remain gentle, steering clear of provocation. Rarity and Fluttershy joined in.

"Twilight, dear, why don't you tell us what's wrong? Quietly, if you please."

"Um... yes, that would be nice. Quietly." Fluttershy gave a self-conscious shake of her wings as she joined the circle of fillies surrounding an increasingly put-out Twilight Sparkle.

"The... the new laws. Weren't you... weren't... wasn't everypony just upset about them? Why..." The words came in halting bursts as she tried to fight confusion and frustration in order to get some sort of point across.

Their reaction only made it worse. She could have taken some giggling at another one of her breakdowns. She could have understood that, welcomed it, even, as a hallmark of some sort of normalcy. Instead, all she received were looks of bemusement that matched her own.

"Well... well shoot, Twi," Applejack finally broke the silence, "I guess we were, but you can't stay upset about things like that forever, you know?"

"Yeah!" Pinkie Pie added with a little hop that turned into a steady bounce as she worked off the nervous energy she wasn't quite used to experiencing. "You can't stay mad forever; that's waaaaay too long."

Disbelief kept Twilight dumb as she merely stared at her bouncing friend.

"Exactly! Besides, whatever the princess wants us to do has to be for the best."

"Precisely. Twilight, you know better than all of us that Princess Celestia only wishes us the most infinite of happiness. She must have very good reasons for all of those new laws."

"She's always been so kind to us."

"And you gotta admit, bucking all those clouds around _is _pretty fun!"

Twilight looked from face to face, but each one was the same: a filly totally convinced that, whatever strangeness surrounded this morning's events, there could be nothing but a positive outcome if Princess Celestia's new edicts were followed. All doubt, all curiosity, all discerning skepticism had simply dissolved, leaving behind complete complacency. She could not believe it. She _would not _believe it.

There was something wrong here! These laws, their passing... there was no way any sensible pony would just shrug that off, not in a thousand years, yet here they were: five perfectly rational, intelligent, normal fillies throwing any sort of logical thought to the wind and blindly accepting new rules that essentially amounted to madness. It was... it was too much.

"But... but these laws. They're... they're crazy. Can't you all see that? They're completely _nuts!_." An attempt at calm speech failed when the sight of their worried, yet still perfectly _accepting_ faces became too much to bear. Twilight, the stress of too many unexplained events weighing heavily on an already anxiety-prone pony, felt tears begin to pool in her eyes.

Their smiles faded, but instead of expressions of epiphany, sorrow and sympathy invaded their faces.

"Aw, shoot. This is another one of those times, isn't it?" Applejack reached out and put a gentle hoof on her shoulder. Twilight wanted to shrug it off, wanted to yell at her friend for treating her like _she_ was the one acting strangely, but strength simply failed her. She remained mute. Applejack seemed to falter, glancing back at the other ponies for some support.

"You're gonna crack up on us again, ar-... uh..." Rainbow Dash loudly offered her brand of "sympathy" before a glare from Rarity reduced her to an awkward mumble. Pegasus curbed, said unicorn gave Twilight a warm smile.

"It's stress, dear, isn't it? Oh, you don't have to deny it; I know _all_ about such things, and it's nothing to be ashamed of! Why, it's quite unhealthy to keep it all bottled up, as you well... ahem... well know."

"We know you haven't been sleeping well lately. That... must have something to do with it, right?" Fluttershy paired her words with a shy nuzzle, moving to stand close beside the trembling Twilight.

"That's right! And that cannot be a good combination. Why, I'm sure after a few days rest, you'll be good as new!"

"Rarity's right, sugarcube. I'm sure that when you've had a few days to yourself, everything'll make perfect sense. And if it doesn't, why, you can always write the princess! I bet she'd be happy to help you out."

"Yeah! Or, you know, come and yell at you again, like-"

"Pinkie!"

"I mean... yeah, she can definitely help you out. And we can, too! Right?"

"That's right.

"Exactly."

"You know you can always count on us. No matter what, we'll try to help you with whatever's bothering you, even if we don't completely understand it."

All around her, her friends' affirmations of loyalty, compassion, and loving willingness rang bright and true. As Twilight looked from one face to the next, all she could see was an honest desire to right whatever had gone wrong. Still, try as she might, she could not shake the notion of inherent _wrongness_, and so, giving a heavy, shuddering sigh, she did the only thing she could think to do.

Twilight smiled.

Lifting her head, she fixed the warmest smile she could muster on her pale face and granted it to each and every one of them.

"You girls are right. I... I _have _been studying a lot lately, and I guess I haven't been getting as much sleep as I should." Another sigh. A deep breath. "And of course the princess wouldn't do anything without our best interests in mind. I think... I'm sure all of this will make more sense in a few days."

Her friends' expressions relaxed into relief.

"There you go! Why don't you go home now, maybe take a nap or two? Can't hurt!"

"I can bring some tea over later, if you like." Twilight felt the warmth of Fluttershy's wing draping over her back in a pegasus-brand hug. "Or some soup, or-"

"It's fine, Fluttershy. Really. I'll be fine. A nap sounds like a good idea and then..."

"If you wake up and still don't feel well, you come right on over to my boutique. You promise me now!" Rarity nudged her other side.

"Okay, okay. I promise."

"Pinkie promise!"

"Yes, okay. Pinkie promise. Really, I'll be okay. Thank you all, girls. I... I don't know what came over me, and... well, I'm just glad you're all my friends."

So ended their conversation, and with it, the last discussion about that morning's meeting. After a few more hugs, well wishes, and promises of visits in the very near future, Twilight left her friends to begin the duties Princess Celestia had outlined for them. Without a single further glance at the Ponyville citizens busily going about their new tasks, Twilight turned towards the library and trotted home.

* * *

><p>The ponies of Ponyville were crazy. It was the only explanation.<p>

Arriving at the library, Twilight Sparkle shut the door behind her. Immediately, a very confused Spike ran up to her, bursting with questions about everything from her whereabouts to her still-disheveled state.

"Never mind that, Spike," she barked in her authoritarian tone, calling the little dragon to attention, "just put on a pot of our strongest tea."

"Yes ma'am!"

Spike ran off to do as told, and Twilight immediately busied herself with pulling every book on mental magic from the shelves. Soon, she was surrounded by piles and stacks of thick tomes. She looked at the mess she was about to dive into, and for a moment, just the slightest moment, an inner voice asked her if maybe it was all for naught. Perhaps, just perhaps, she really was too stressed, and whatever strangeness she saw in the new laws was just a figment crafted by overwork and worry. For that moment, Twilight felt the pull of acceptance, something so enticing with its whispered promise of contentment that she felt herself reach towards it, ready to-

_No._ That moment vanished at the beckoning of another feeling, a violent twist of notion that told her that she was right, they were wrong, and that something was deeply, darkly _wrong _in her world. She latched onto that notion as if it were a lifeline, and the sense of finally finding the right path enveloped her. With a determined nod, she set to work.

By the time Spike returned with a mug of honeyed tea, Twilight had curled up on the library rug, feverishly delving deeper into subjects whose surface she had only skimmed the day before. Mental bonds; mind tricks; shielding; calling; dreamwork. She memorized everything she could find about both theory and practice, never wavering in focus even when Spike wished her hesitant goodnight. Hours passed, and her candles burned lower and lower, but Twilight persevered until she'd read the final passage in the final book. Finally, long after the sun had relinquished the sky to the moon and her myriad stars, she was ready.

* * *

><p><em>There was an old woman, who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she didn't know what to do. She gave them some broth, without any bread, then whipped them all soundly and put them to bed.<em>

There was an old woman, who lived in a shoe. She had so many children, she-

Wait, now. What in Equestria was a shoe? Certainly it couldn't have been a horseshoe; those were decidedly solid. No hollow living space to be seen at all, sad to say. And what, for that matter, were chil-

_No, no, no! Focus_.

He'd been good, hoping to give her greater reason to return. He'd held off on any more visions sent her way, aiming for a guided boost in her confidence, a lure back, and it had cost him. It had cost him dearly. Still, he'd only need hold out a little longer. Just a little bit more. It would only have to be a little bit more, because any second now, she'd be back. Any second, her voice would break through the stifling silence, and he'd have to be at his very best, for at that moment, the show would begin. The show. He had to be focused for the show. Had to, had to, _had to._Maybe he could try counting again. Backwards. Forwards. Sideways, in base five. Maybe...

_There was an old woman, who lived in a was it a pretty shoe what did it look like what was a shoe hey maybe maybe he could make something awesome and call it a shoe that would be great wouldn't it just great ever great yes maybe now now now-_

Discord!

Bah, not now; too many things to frolic with too many paths to trot too many wells to fall into and drown in too many too many too-

_Hey, I'm talking to you! I know you're there. Answer me!_

Answer... answer what? What wanted a... where wanted what... who... now... _oh..._

Twilight Sparkle!

It was no greeting. His first mental words carried none of Twilight's defiant spirit; instead, they were more like the breathless gasp of a drowning thing. Probably because... well, they were, unfortunately enough. Immediately, he could feel a peering curiosity reach out and grabbed it like the life preserver it was. The energies latched onto it; they quailed just a touch. Just enough. The next words came in the smooth, wily voice of the manipulator. The proper voice. _His _voice.

_Twilight Sparkle. I see you've returned, and so_ soon, _too._

Hardly soon, hardly; nearly too late, but _focus _now...

Now was the moment that counted. Now was the time to gather up the last of his energy reserves, for though Twilight had not yet truly spoken, he already knew what she had returned for. There was only one thing _to_ return for, and he was more than ready to give it to her. Already, he'd planned out how to start. He knew precisely what to do.

All that was left now was to endure this last moment of crumbling weakness. Once the deal was made, once the proverbial ball got rolling, it would all be fine. His trains of thought would stick to their own twisted rails, and everything would be _fine._ Just _fine_ and _dandy._All that was left was-

_I know you know why I'm here, Discord, so let's skip the games. I'll make this clear right now: any wrong moves from you, and any and all deals are_ off. _I'm here only on the condition that... will you stop laughing?_

He couldn't. Between nerves, relief, and the utter _hilarity_ inherent in a pony being so adorably pompous, he completely failed in containing howls of mental mirth. Not even a threat of abandonment stifled his guffaws, and why should it have? She was back, and they both knew she was back with a mission she'd already promised to complete.

Confirmation of that notion came though a few moments of impatient waiting until, finally, Discord could speak again.

_Ah, my apologies, my dear. You are simply just the _cutest _little pony I have ever met. Do you have any idea what kind of compliment that is? I have met _so_ many little ponies..._

Annoyance. Impatience. Embarrassment. Seething fury.

He snatched them all to appease the swarming chaos threatening coherency. It ebbed, and he celebrated private victory as he continued.

_But yes; you've returned. And I agree: it is rather past the time for games. As I understand it, you and your princess are not fairing particularly well, hmm?_

A pause. Silence. Once again, his cunning had earned him a confirmation of knowledge he could use to further entice her. Excellent. With another point added to his mental scoreboard, he continued.

_I thought not._ Impossible to hide the sneer, but what did it matter? He knew he had her. _So are you ready, my dear? Shall we seal the-_

No! I'm not sealing any deals on your terms. I may need your...

information,_but I'm not about to let you get away with any more than absolutely necessary. Now, if you're serious about this, then here are my rules: first, we both have our rights to a barrier, and we don't break or pass those barriers. Ever. Second: no lies. You lie, and the deal is off. Third..._

My my; such authority. And what if I refuse your rules, Twilight Sparkle?

The answer came with no hesitation, and even through his amusement, he felt almost impressed by her resolve. Almost. Not quite, but almost.

_If you refuse the rules, then I know that you don't really want what you say you want. And that means that you won't be bound by this deal at all, will you?_

He chuckled. _How wonderfully astute of you, Twilight Sparkle. Of course, I'd expect no less from Celestia's prize pupil. Now, please don't worry your little head over a bunch of silly rules. I am a draconequus of my word, after all._

Twilight's mental snort went ignored.

_It doesn't matter what rules you wish to establish as long as I receive at least two hours of normal conversation time with you per day._

She did well to hide her disbelief, but he knew she must be feeling it. The sheer simplicity of his request was ridiculous even to him, and he suppressed mental laughter with a fair amount of difficulty.

_That's... that's it?_

Acceptance. Agreement. He could almost taste them, and close behind them, just over the horizon, he could see _freedom..._

That's it.

And you'll... you'll give me information about the princess?

Precisely.

Anything I ask?

Yes, as long as I know the answer.

...anything?

Twilight Sparkle, you can continue to quiz me on my willingness, or you can allow me to prove it to you. The deal stands thus: you may ask me whatever you wish about Princess Celestia, and I will answer you truthfully, to the best of my ability. In return, I request the pleasure of your conversational company for at least two hours a day. No less, though if you wish to bask in my charm for longer, that is, of course, perfectly all right.

I just... have to talk to you? That's really all you want?

Yes indeedy. Here now, let me put it in the proper terms.

He cleared a nonexistent throat.

_In exchange for two hours of your day_

_Whatever you ask, I shall say_

_The princess' life you wish to see_

_Spend time here, and you shall know it through me_

_There we are; pretty as can be, no?_

_I..._

He could see her, in his unfocused mind's eye, see her pawing at the ground in her indecision. He could see the ambiguous tilt of her ears, the nervous twitch of her tail as she strained to examine every possible intricacy of what he'd offered. He could see her biting her lip as she came to her final decision.

The faintest breath of resignation came from behind her mental barrier.

_All right. I accept your deal._

And so he had her. Discord, bound in his torturous cell of a statue, so limited in ability, had succeeded in gaining the pawn he needed for his plan. Elation came immediately, a cascading wave of bubbling joy the likes of which he hadn't felt since... well, for a long time. Laughter came with it, laughter so raucous and wild that he could feel her recoil behind her barrier. What did it matter, though? Laughter, she expected. Laughter, crazy, insane, moronic laughter, was probably the one thing she'd _always _expect of him. She'd never suspect anything because of it.

Twilight Sparkle would never suspect that his frenetic mirth came from the knowledge that he finally had the precious metal needed to fashion his key to freedom. Now all that was left was to mold it, to mold _her_, and oh, how easy that would be! How magnificently easy, for the tools he had at his disposal, the memories, the _knowledge_... oh, it would be simple. A _snap!_

He'd be free in no time at all, and so Discord let himself laugh until he grew bored of it. That was... not very long at all, really, considering that boredom seemed to be something like an over-attached sibling to him. Anyway, with the initial step complete, he had to begin the real work. The sooner, the better. The sooner, the closer he was to reigning over Equestria again.

_So... what now?_

Twilight's voice, cautious after his display of almost vicious joy, interrupted his private gloating. He turned his attention back to her with an air of mischievous glee. What now, she asked. What now, indeed. Ha!

_Now, Twilight Sparkle, we begin our little exchange. Ready? No?_ Excellent!

She felt his energy overwhelm her senses, and as Discord's cackles echoed in her mind, Twilight's Sparkle's world, both physical and mental, went black.

* * *

><p>AN: Thank you for reading. Any and all comments are greatly appreciated.


	6. Author's Note

A/N: Due to formatting difficulties, I will no longer be updating this story on this site.

Instead, updates will continue, with hopefully more regularity, on fimfiction .net All comments should also be given there.

It can be viewed here: fimfiction .net/story/3457/For-All-That-Must-Be

Chapter five has already been uploaded for viewing convenience.

~CF


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